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WITH  THE  MODERATOR  ONE  YEAR,  $1.75. 
Address  H.  R.  FATTEWCILL,  Lansing,  Mich. 


A  PRIMER 


WUr  ’  OF  THE 

OR 

PEDAGOGY 

UNIVERSITY  OF  ILLINOIS  LIBRAHV 

JUN  ^  ®  1910 

DANIEL  PUTNAM, 


TEACHER  OF  PEDAGOGY 


H.  R.  PATTENGILL,  PUBLISHER, 

LANSING,  MICH. 


Address  all  orders  to 

A.  FLANAGAN.  Qhitago. 


D.  D.  THORP,  PRINTER  AND  BINDER. 
LANSING,  MICH. 


Copyright,  1891, 

BY 

Henry  R.  Pattengild. 


PREFATORY  NOTE. 


This  work  is  published  with  the  hope  that  it  may  be  useful 
to  some  of  the  many  teachers  who  have  neither  time  nor 
opportunity  to  pursue  an  extended  course  of  preparation  for 
their  work.  Its  necessary  brevity  forbids  any  pretensions  to 
completeness ;  but  an  effort  has  been  made  to  put  into  it 
those  things  which  a  teacher  most  needs  to  know  in  order  to 
discover,  adopt,  and  use  intelligently  good  methods  of  teaching. 
Those  who  are  familiar  with  the  great  mass  of  material 
included  under  the  general  terms  pedagogy  and  pedagogics 
will  understand  the  difficulty  of  selecting  wisely  and  con¬ 
densing  skillfully,  and  will  consequently  look  leniently  upon 
imperfections  of  which  the  author  is  painfully  conscious. 


341961 


^  "P  rimer  of  '"Pedagogy. 

CHAPTER  I. 

THE  TEACHER’S  WORK. 

Three  questions. — Three  questions  naturally  present  them¬ 
selves  to  a  person  who  proposes  to  prepare  himself  to  do  any 
work  : 

(1.)  Just  what  is  the  work  which  I  am.  preparing  to  do? 

(2.)  By  what  means  and  methods,  and  in  what  manner,  can 
this  work  be  done  most  easily  and  thoroughly  ? 

(8.)  How  can  I  prepare  myself  most  readily  and  completely 
to  do  this  work  ?  • 

Should  be  answered. — Every  candidate  for  a  teachers 
position  should  put  these  questions  to  himself,  and  should  not 
be  satisfied  until  he  can  answer  them  wfith  a  good  degree 
of  clearness  and  definiteness. 

Probable  answer. — Very  likely  the  answer  to  the  first 
question,  in  most  cases,  will  be,  the  work  is  teaching,  and  I 
propose  to  prepare  myself  to  teach. 

While  this  reply  might  be  accepted  with  sufficient  explana¬ 
tion  and  qualification,  it  involves  the  not  unusual  error  of 
putting  the  means  in  place  of  the  end.  Teaching  is  not  an  end 
in  itself :  it  is  only  and  merely  a  means  to  an  end.  We  do  not 
teach  for  the  sake  of  the  teaching  any  more  than  we  construct 
a  machine  simply  for  the  sake  of  the  machine,  or  make  a  road 
just  for  the  sake  of  having  the  road.  We  value  the  machine, 


6 


A  PRIMER  OF  PEDAGOGY. 


not  for  itself,  however  beautiful  it  may  be,  but  for  what  we  can 
accomplish  by  using  it ;  we  value  the  road  because  it  affords  a 
convenient  way  of  going  somewhere.  So  we  value  teaching  on 
account  of  the  purpose  which  can  be  accomplished  by  it.  That 
purpose  or  end  is  the  education  of  the  child. 

The  real  work  of  the  teacher. — The  real  work  to  be  done, 

the  real  work  of  the  teacher,  is  the  right  education  of  his 
pupils. 

He  teaches  in  order  to  attain  this  end.  If  the  teaching 
secures  this,  it  is  good  ;  if  it  fails  to  accomplish  this,  it  is  worth¬ 
less,  or  of  very  little  value. 

What  is  right  education  ? — If  it  be  agreed  that  the  teacher’s 
work  is  the  right  education  of  the  child,  the  question  presents 
itself,  what  is  right  education  ?  Without  attempting  to  give  a 
complete  and  formal  definition  we  may  safely  assume  that  the 
proper  education  of  a  child  must  include  : — 

(1.)  The  complete  development  of  the  child ;  that  is,  the  bring¬ 
ing  out  into  the  highest  state  of  possible  perfection  all  his 
powers  of  body  and  soul,  making  of  him  the  most  and  best  of 
which  his  nature  is  susceptible. 

(2.)  The  thorough  training  of  the  child .  Training  is  form¬ 
ing,  fashioning,  and  molding  by  continual  practice,  causing 
acts  and  processes  to  be  repeated  until  they  can  be  performed 
with  great  accuracy  and  rapidity  and  with  little  conscious 
effort. 

(3.)  Th z  proper  instructing  of  the  child ;  that  is,  the  helping 
of  the  child,  so  far  as  aid  is  needed,  to  obtain  that  knowledge 
which  will  be  of  the  highest  value  to  him  as  an  individual  and 
also  as  a  member  of  the  community  and  a  citizen  of  the  state. 


A  PRIMER  OF  PEDAGOGY. 


7 


What  is  produced? — These  are  the  three  co-ordinate  elements 
or  factors  in  a  complete  and  symmetrical  education  :  Develop¬ 
ment  produces  power ,  strength ,  energy;  training  results  in 
skill ,  dexterity ,  facility ,  habit ;  instruction  gives  intelligence , 
comprehension ,  mastery  of  facts  and  principles ,  and  should 
tend  to  the  production  of  virtue  and  righteousness  of  charac¬ 
ter  and  conduct.  Intelligence  guides  power  in  the  right  direc¬ 
tion,  and  makes  profitable  use  of  skill  and  dexterity. 

All  accomplished  at  the  same  time. — These  three  objects 
are  accomplished  at  the  same  time  and  by  the  same  processes 
if  right  methods  are  wisely  employed  by  the  teacher.  Instruc¬ 
tion  must  precede  and  accompany  training  and  furnish  the 
material  upon  which  the  activity  involved  in  training  is  exer¬ 
cised.  The  exercise  which  training  requires,  produces  develop¬ 
ment. 

Some  definitions  of  education. — These  statements  of  what 
education  should  do  for  the  child  are  essentially  the  same  as 
those  made  by  many  eminent  writers. 

Tate. — Tate  says:  “Elementary  education  has  two  ends. 
1.  To  develop  the  intellectual  and  moral  faculties  ;  or,  in  other 
words,  to  develop  the  faculties  of  the  perfect  man.  2.  To  com¬ 
municate  to  the  pupil  that  sort  of  knowledge  which  is  most 
likely  to  be  useful  to  him  in  the  sphere  of  life  which  Providence 
has  assigned  him.” 

Milton. — Milton,  in  his  tractate  on  education,  writes:  “I 
call  a  complete  and  generous  education  that  which  fits  a  man 
to  perform  justly,  skillfully,  and  magnanimously,  all  the  offices 
both  private  and  public  of  peace  and  war.”  In  this  definition 
Milton  has  in  view  the  purpose  or  end  to  be  secured  by  educa¬ 
tion  rather  than  education  itself. 


8 


A  PRIMER  OF  PEDAGOGY. 


Addison. — Addison,  in  his  beautiful  style,  says  :  44  I  consider 
a  human  soul  without  education  like  marble  in  the  quarry, 
which  shows  none  of  its  inherent  beauties  until  the  skill  of  the 
polisher  fetches  out  the  colors,  makes  the  surface  shine,  and 
discovers  every  ornamental  cloud,  spot,  and  vein  that  runs 
through  the  body  of  it. 

44  Education,  after  the  same  manner,  when  it  works  upon  a 
noble  mind,  draws  out  to  view  every  latent  virtue  and  perfec¬ 
tion  which,  without  such  helps,  are  never  able  to  make  their 
appearance.” 

Plato. — Plato,  in  his  Laws,  seems  to  have  anticipated  the 
modern  doctrine  of  44  learning  to  do  by  doing,”  and  even  some¬ 
thing  of  the  kindergarten,  when  he  writes  :  44  According  to  my 
view,  he  who  would  be  good  at  anything  must  practice  that 
thing  from  his  youth  upwards,  both  in  sport  and  in  earnest,  in 
the  particular  manner  which  the  work  requires.  For  example, 
he  who  is  to  be  a  good  builder,  should  play  at  building  chil¬ 
dren’s  houses  ;  and  he  who  is  to  be  a  good  husbandman,  at 
tilling  the  ground.  Those  who  have  charge  of  the  education  of 
children  should  provide  them  when  young  with  mimic  tools, 
and  they  should  learn  beforehand  the  knowledge  which  they 
will  afterwards  require  for  their  art.  For  example,  the  future 
carpenter  should  learn  to  measure  or  apply  the  line  in  play  ; 
and  the  future  warrior  should  learn  riding,  or  some  other  exer¬ 
cise  for  amusement ;  and  the  teacher  should  endeavor  to  direct 
the  children’s  inclinations  and  pleasures,  by  the  help  of  amuse¬ 
ments,  to  their  final  aim  in  life.  The  soul  of  the  child,  in  his 
play,  should  be  trained  to  that  sort  of  excellence  in  which, 
when  he  grows  to  manhood,  he  will  have  to  be  perfected.” 


A  PRIMER  OF  PEDAGOGY. 


9 


In  speaking  of  the  value  of  education  to  the  state  he  says: 
“If  you  ask  what  is  the  good  of  education  in  general,  the 
answer  is  easy — that  education  makes  good  men,  and  good 
men  act  nobly  because  they  are  good.” 

Divisions  of  education. — If  the  subject  were  to  be  fully  con¬ 
sidered  it  would  be  convenient  to  make  several  divisions  and 
treat  each  of  these  separately.  It  will  only  be  possible  here  to 
indicate  these  divisions. 

1.  Physical  education,  which  treats  of  the  proper  develop¬ 
ment  and  training  of  the  body,  and  of  the  conditions  necessary 
for  securing  and  maintaining  strength,  vigor  and  health  in  the 
physical  organism. 

2.  Intellectual  education,  which  treats  of  the  development 
and  training  of  the  intellectual  powers,  and  of  the  whole  mat¬ 
ter  of  instruction,  study,  and  teaching. 

3.  Moral  education,  which  considers  man  as  a  being  capable 
of  knowing  right  from  wrong,  and  free  to  choose  between  these, 
and  consequently  responsible  for  his  conduct.  This  division 
treats  of  the  principles  which  should  govern  men  in  all  the  rela¬ 
tions  of  life,  and  seeks  to  show  how  children  may  be  taught  and 
trained  to  habits  of  truthfulness,  honesty,  integrity,  and  virtue 
in  the  highest  sense  of  the  word. 

4.  Industrial  education,  which  includes  “  manual  training, ’’ 
and  considers  how  pupils  may  be  prepared  to  use  to  the  best 
advantage  their  powers  of  body  as  well  as  of  mind,  and  may  be 
fitted,  when  leaving  school,  to  enter  immediately  into  some 
business  or  employment  of  some  kind  by  which  they  can  gain  a 
livelihood  and  be  useful  to  the  state. 

It  will  not  be  practicable  to  discuss  these  divisions  separately, 
at  any  length,  in  this  work.  It  will  be  understood  that  the 


10 


A  PRIMER  OF  PEDAGOGY. 


complete  education  of  a  child  includes,  as  far  as  possible,  all 
these  varieties  of  education. 

SUMMARY  OF  CHAPTER  I. 

1.  Three  questions  presented  to  one  preparing  for  any  work. 

2.  Probable  answer  to  the  first  question  by  one  preparing  to 
teach. 

3.  Why  this  answer  is  not  satisfactory. 

4.  Illustrations  of  the  purpose  of  teaching. 

5.  Real  work  of  the  teacher. 

6.  The  three  objects  which  education  should  include. 

7.  The  results  of  development,  of  training,  of  instruction. 

8.  Relation  of  these  processes  to  each  other. 

9.  Definitions  of  education  quoted.  Tate,  Milton,  Addison, 
Plato. 

10.  Divisions  of  the  subject  of  education  and  purpose  of  each. 


CHAPTER  II. 

THE  CHILD. 

Knowledge  needed  to  answer  the  second  question. — The 

question,  What  is  the  teacher’s  work?  was  answered  in  the  first 
chapter.  The  second  question,  By  what  means  and  methods, 
and  in  what  manner,  can  this  work  be  done  most  easily  and 
thoroughly  ?  cannot  be  answered  so  readily  and  briefly. 

The  being  to  be  educated  is  the  child.  Before  ice  can  tell 
how  to  educate  him  we  must  know  what  sort  of  a  being  he  is. 
What  is  there  in  him  to  be  developed  and  trained  ?  The  germs 
of  what  powers  and  capacities  does  he  possess  ?  What  kind  of 


A  PRIMER  OF  PEDAGOGY. 


11 


instruction  does  he  need  ?  and  under  what  conditions  and  cir¬ 
cumstances  can  this  instruction  be  given  to  the  best  advantage  ? 

Illustration. — The  man  who  should  offer  to  take  charge  of  a 
valuable  young  horse,  and  to  train  him  for  use  or  for  the  mar¬ 
ket,  would  be  asked  by  the  owner  of  the  animal  what  he  knew 
about  horses,  and  about  the  best  methods  of  training  them  ; 
whether  he  knew  what  kind  of  food  horses  needed,  and  how 
much,  and  in  what  form  and  at  what  times  it  should  be  given. 
Whether  he  had  carefully  studied  the  nature  and  disposition 
of  horses,  and  understood  how  to  handle  them  ;  how  to  train 
them  so  as  to  bring  out  their  very  best  characteristics  and 
qualities,  and  to  correct  any  bad  or  vicious  traits  which  might 
appear  in  the  progress  of  their  education.  Such  questions 
would  be  reasonable,  and  it  would  be  necessary  for  this  can¬ 
didate  for  the  position  of  trainer  to  make  clear  and  definite 
replies.  It  w^ould  hardly  be  satisfactory  for  him  to  say  that 
he  had  seen  a  great  many  horses,  and  could  readily  distinguish 
them  from  mules  by  sight,  even  at  considerable  distance. 

Proper  to  ask  of  the  teacher. — Is  it  not  proper  to  ask  as 
much  of  the  teacher  of  children  as  of  the  trainer  of  horses ? 
and  to  expect  as  definite  answers  of  the  teacher  as  of  the 
trainer  ?  What,  then,  is  a  child  ? 

What  the  child  is. — The  child  is  a  complex  being,  curiously 
and  wonderfully  made,  composed  of  matter ,  the  body ,  and  of 
spirit ,  the  mind  or  soul.  The  limits  of  a  short  chapter  will 
not  allow  a  complete  analysis  and  study  of  his  nature.  It  is 
assumed  that  the  reader  has  some  knowledge  of  the  human 
body,  derived  from  observation  and  from  instruction  in  the 
elements  of  physiology.  We  shall  here  notice  only  some  parts 


12 


A  PRIMER  OF  PEDAGOGY. 


of  the  nervous  system,  which  must  be  clearly  understood  in 
order  to  understand  certain  activities  of  the  mind. 

Nervous  system. — The  brain  is  the  great  center  of  the  nerv¬ 
ous  system.  From  the  brain  and  the  spinal  cord  small 
threads  or  cords  called  nerves  extend  to  all  parts  of  the  body. 
Each  nerve  is  composed  of  a  considerable  number  of  very 
minute  fibers  very  closely  united.  The  peculiar  property  or 
characteristic  of  the  nerves  is  the  susceptibility  of  being 
impressed ,  excited ,  or  irritated ,  and  the  power  of  transmitting 
or  conveying,  in  some  way ,  these  impressions,. excitements  or 
irritations. 

Some  of  the  nerves  or  nerve  fibers  transmit  impressions  made 
upon  them  by  external  things  inward  to  the  brain.  These  are 
called  afferent  or  sensory  nerves.  Other  nerves  convey  im¬ 
pulses  or  impressions  from  the  brain  outward  to  the  various 
parts  of  the  body.  These  are  named  efferent  or  motor  nerves. 
For  example,  I  will  to  take  a  book  from  the  table  ;  the  nerves 
running  to  my  hand  and  fingers  convey  the  order  or  impulse 
made  upon  them  by  the  act  of  my  will ;  the  muscles  of  the 
arm,  hand,  and  fingers  move  in  the  right  direction  and  order 
and  the  book  is  grasped. 

PROCESSES  AND  ACTIVITIES  OF  KNOWING. 

The  senses. — We  are  said  to  have  five  senses.  This  means 
that  there  are  five  peculiar  and  special  nerves,  called  nerves  of 
sense,  through  which  we  get  the  beginnings  of  all  our  knowl¬ 
edge.  These  are  the  nerves  of  touch,  taste,  smell,  hearing  and 
sight.  They  are  sometimes  called  the  “  gate- ways  of  the  soul,” 
because  only  through  these  can  the  soul  become  acquainted 
with  the  external  world. 

Each  of  these  nerves,  except  the  nerves  of  touch,  receives 


A  PRIMEK  OF  PEDAGOGY. 


13 


but  one  kind  of  impression  and  gives  to  the  mind  but  one  kind 
of  knowledge.  By  a  most  beneficent  provision,  however,  if  one 
nerve  of  sense  is  lost  or  destroyed,  the  others  can,  to  a  consider¬ 
able  extent,  supply  its  place.  It  is  also  true  that,  by  a  process  of 
education,  one  sense  learns  to  do  work  which  originally  belonged 
to  another  sense.  For  example,  we  judge  by  sight  whether  a 
surface  is  rough  or  smooth,  although,  in  the  first  instance,  we 
must  have  learned  to  distinguish  the  rough  from  the  smooth  by 
touch.  Other  illustrations  will  readily  occur  to  any  one  who 
thinks. 

Knowledge  derived  through  the  different  senses. — By  the 

sense  of  touch  in  connection  with  muscular  movement  and 
resistance,  we  obtain  our  first  notions  of  form,  distance,  direc¬ 
tion,  weight,  hardness,  softness,  roughness,  smoothness,  and 
of  many  other  characteristics  of  objects.  Taste  makes  us 
acquainted  only  with  flavors.  Smell  gives  information  con¬ 
cerning  odors  alone ;  hearing  is  the  only  gate- way  through 
which  sounds  reach  the  soul.  Sight  primarily  gives  knowledge 
of  colors  and  forms ;  but  very  early  the  child  begins  to  learn, 
through  this  sense,  of  size,  direction,  distance,  character  of  sur¬ 
faces,  and  of  many  other  things.  Education  deals  very  largely 
with  the  sense  of  sight.  The  eye  and  the  hand  are  of  priceless 
value  in  the  schoolroom,  as  they  are  in  the  greater  world  of 
human  affairs  generally. 

The  senses,  instruments  of  the  mind. — The  senses  are  the 
instruments  or  organs  of  the  mind.  Through  them  the  mind 
feels,  tastes,  smells,  hears,  and  sees.  In  the  process  of  educa¬ 
tion  they  are  to  be  trained,  by  proper  exercise,  to  become  more 
perfect  and  more  reliable  instruments.  It  is  a  part  of  the 
teacher’s  work  to  provide  for  such  training. 


14 


A  PRIMER  OF  PEDAGOGY. 


The  mind.  Consciousness. — The  mind  or  sold  is  that  within 
us  which  knows ,  feels ,  and  wills.  Of  its  substance  we  have  no 
knowledge.  We  know  that  we  feel,  taste,  smell,  hear,  and  see; 
that  we  think,  remember,  imagine  and  reason.  This  kind  of 
knowing  we  call  consciousness ,  which  may  be  defined  as  the 
mind  knowing  itself  and  knowing  its  own  states  and  activities. 

Relation  of  consciousness  to  the  senses.  Sensation  — The 
relation  of  consciousness  and  the  senses  is  easily  illustrated  :  I 
rub  the  tips  of  my  fingers  over  the  rough  surface  of  an  unpol¬ 
ished  piece  of  stone  and  then  over  the  surface  of  a  piece  of 
highly  polished  marble.  An  impression  is  made  in  each  case 
upon  the  minute  fibers  of  the  nerves.  They  are  irritated,  or 
excited,  and  this  excitement  is  conveyed  along  the  nerves  to  the 
brain.  In  some  way,  but  how  no  one  has  yet  been 'able  to 
explain,  an  impression  is  made  upon  the  mind.  A  state  of 
mind  is  produced  which  is  called  a  sensation.  We  say,  there¬ 
fore,  sensation  is  a  state  of  mind  produced  by  an  impression 
upon  some  sensory  nerve. 

Beginnings  of  education. — The  mind  is  immediately  aware 
of  the  sensation  through  consciousness.  In  the  case  just  sup¬ 
posed  of  rubbing  the  pieces  of  stone,  the  mind  recognizes  the 
two  sensations,  compares  them,  pronounces  them  unlike,  and 
declares  one  piece  to  be  rough,  the  other  smooth.  All  the 
knowledge  of  the  child  begins  with  sensations.  The  process 
of  education  commences  just  at  this  point,  and  commences  with 
the  knowing  of  sensations,  comparing  them,  finding  their 
resemblances  and  differences,  and  making  conclusions  and 
decisions  concerning  them. 

Knowledge  of  external  things. — As  soon  as  the  mind 
becomes  conscious  of  sensations  it  begins  spontaneously  to 


A  PRIMER  OF  PEDAGOGY. 


15 


attribute  them  to  external  objects  or  influences  as  causes.  If 
through  the  sense  of  smell  it  has  a  sensation  of  some  odor,  it 
believes  the  odor  comes  from  some  object  outside  of  itself.  This 
attributing  sensations  to  their  causes  brings  the  mind  into 
acquaintance  with  the  external  world,  and  produces  what  is 
called  perception. 

Perception. — Perception ,  as  an  act ,  is  the  mind  knowing 
things  outside  of  itself ,  the  world  about  us.  As  a  power ,  per¬ 
ception  is  the  ability  of  the  mind  to  know  the  external  world. 
In  the  act  of  perceiving  we  form  in  the  mind  an  image,  idea, 
or  notion  of  the  thing  perceived.  This  product  of  the  act  of 
perceiving  is  called  a  percept.  If  I  look  upon  a  tree  and  then 
close  my  eyes  and  turn  away  I  can  form  a  picture  or  repre¬ 
sentation  of  the  tree  in  my  mind.  This  picture  is  the  percept 
reproduced.  If  I  hear  a  musical  tone  I  can  afterwards  form 
an  idea  or  notion  of  the  tone,  but  not  an  image  or  picture.  The 
same  is  true  of  a  taste  or  an  odor.  These  ideas  or  notions  are 
also  called  percepts. 

Space  and  time. — The  mind  is  so  made  that  as  soon  as  a 
child  begins  to  know  objects  he  cannot  help  thinking  or  know¬ 
ing  that  they  are  somewhere.  That  somewhere  he  learns  to 
call  space.  He  cannot  think  of  himself  without  at  the  same 
time  thinking  that  he  is  in  space.  He  thinks  of  all  things  as  in 
space,  though  he  cannot  tell  what  space  is. 

As  soon  as  he  commences  to  notice  that  events  happen  one 
after  another,  that  he  sees  one  thing  and  then  another,  that  he 
thinks  one  thought  and  then  another,  he  has  immediately  an 
idea  of  what  we  call  time,  though  he  is  unable  to  describe  it. 

Intuition. — That  power  of  mind  which  causes  the  child  to  have 
.  such  ideas  as  those  of  space  and  time  is  called  intuition.  The 


16 


A.  PRIMER  OF  PEDAGOGY. 


same  power  recognizes  instantly  the  truth  of  what  we  call 
axioms.  They  are  said  to  be  self-evident  truths.  We  mean  by 
this  that  the  mind  is  so  constituted  that  it  cannot  help  accept¬ 
ing  them  as  true  as  soon  as  it  knows  them.  It  does  not  go 
through  any  process  of  reasoning  to  reach  this  conclusion. 
Such  truths  as  these  make  a  starting  point  in  all  processes  of 
reasoning.  No  sane  mind  ever  doubts  or  denies  them. 

The  perceptive  powers. — These  three  activities  of  mind,  con¬ 
sciousness,  perception  and  intuition,  give  us  the  beginnings, 
what  we  may  call  the  raw  material,  of  all  our  knowledge. 
Taken  together  they  form  a  class  or  group  of  mental  activities 
and  are  named  the  perceptive  powers.  Consciousness,  as  before 
stated,  is  the  mind  knowing  or  perceiving  itself,  and  what  it 
does,  and  how  it  feels,  and  what  it  chooses  and  determines. 
Perception,  as  an  act,  is  the  mind  perceiving  or  knowing 
external  things  through  the  senses.  Intuition  is  the  mind  per¬ 
ceiving  or  knowing  simple  ideas,  such  as  the  idea  of  time,  of 
space,  of  beauty,  or  of  right,  and  of  self-evident  truths  :  Such 
as  that  the  whole  is  equal  to  the  sum  of  all  its  parts,  or  that  an 
object  can  be  in  only  one  place  at  any  one  time. 

CONCEPTIVE  OR  REPRESENTATIVE  ACTIVITIES. 

Power  and  process  of  representation. — As  already  stated,  I 
can  shut  my  eyes  and  yet  see,  in  my  mind,  a  tree,  or  a  house, 
or  any  other  object  of  sight.  There  appears  to  be  “in  the 
mind’s  eye,”  a  picture  or  an  image  of  the  object.  This  picture 
or  image  is  said  to  represent  the  object . 

I  can  think  of  some  sound  which  I  have  heard  at  some  past 
time  so  as  to  have  a  pretty  clear  and  distinct  idea  of  the  soimd. 
Any  person  who  sings  must  be  able  to  do  this,  otherwise  he 


A  PRIMER  OF  PEDAGOGY. 


17 


could  not  reproduce  to-day  the  notes  of  a  tune  learned  yesterday 
or  last  year. 

In  the  same  way  one  can  form  a  notion  of  a  taste  or  a  smell 
which  has  been  experienced  at  some  time.  If  this  were  not  so 
the  mouth  would  not  “  water”  when  we  think  of  some  very 
delicious  article  of  food. 

Representation  from  descriptions. — I  can  also  represent  or 
picture  mentally  any  object  or  place  when  it  is  described  to  me, 
although  I  have  never  myself  seen  the  object  or  place.  This 
process  of  representation  always  goes  on  in  the  mind  when  one 
is  reading,  if  the  language  of  the  book  or  paper  is  understood. 
A  book  is  of  no  use  to  a  child  until  he  has  become  able  to  form 
those  mental  images  and  ideas. 

Representation  in  school. — In  the  schoolroom  the  pupil, 
who  is  told  to  place  an  example  in  arithmetic  upon  the  black¬ 
board  without  using  his  book,  must  first  form  a  picture  or  idea 
of  the  example  in  his  mind  before  he  can  produce  it  on  the 
board.  The  same  would  be  true  of  a  sentence  to  be  written, 
of  a  map  to  be  drawn,  or  of  a  geometrical  figure  to  be  repro¬ 
duced. 

Concepts. — All  these  mental  images ,  pictures ,  ideas  or 
notioyis  are  called  simple  concepts.  They  differ  from  percepts 
in  this  respect :  Percepts  are  the  mental  pictures  and  ideas  or 
notions  of  objects  formed  when  the  objects  are  present  to  the 
senses  ;  concepts  are  the  mental  pictures  and  notions  formed 
when  the  objects  are  not  present. 

Real  representation. — In  all  the  examples  thus  far  men¬ 
tioned  the  mind  represents  things  just  as  they  are  or  just  as 
they  are  supposed  to  be.  This  process  is  called  real  represen- 
2 


18 


A  PEI  ME R  OF  PEDAGOGY. 


tation ,  and  the  mental  activity  which  does  such  work  is  called 
simple  conception  or  the  power  of  real  representation .  It  is 
also  sometimes  named  reproductive  imagination. 

Ideal  representation,  imagination  — But  there  is  another 
and  a  different  kind  of  representation,  which  is  more  properly 
the  work  of  imagination.  Mental  images  and  pictures  may  be 
combined  and  arranged  into  new  forms,  unlike  any  which  have 
ever  been  seen,  or  which  actually  exist.  In  this  way  the  painter 
produces  an  ideal  landscape,  putting  into  a  single  picture  the 
representation  of  objects  from  many  different  localities,  a 
mountain  from  one  place,  a  valley  from  another,  a  grove  from 
still  another,  and  so  on  until  he  has  filled  his  canvas.  In  like 
manner  the  story  writer  fills  his  book  with  incidents,  skillfully 
woven  together,  which  originally  had  no  relation  to  each  other. 
Such  representations  are  called  ideal ,  and  the  mental  power 
which  creates  them  is  imagination  proper . 

Other  work  of  imagination. — The  imagination  also  changes 
things  by  representing  them  as  larger  or  smaller  than  they 
really  are,  thus  making  giants  and  pygmies  out  of  ordinary 
men.  It  also  transforms  one  thing  into  another,  and  represents 
persons  and  things  by  objects  which  have  no  resemblance  to 
them.  The  boy’s  stick  becomes  a  horse;  the  girl's  toy  table  is 
surrounded  by  an  imaginary  company  of  her  playmates. 

In  school. — In  the  schoolroom  imagination  is  of  great  serv¬ 
ice.  By  its  help  the  pupil  sees  rivers,  lakes,  mountains,  hills, 
villages,  cities,  railroads,  and  hundreds  of  other  objects  in  the 
map  hanging  on  the  wall  before  him,  where,  in  reality,  he  can 
see  only  lines  and  marks  of  various  kinds. 

Memory. — Memory  is  the  power  of  mind  which  retains ,  re¬ 
produces  and  reknows  knoivledge.  How  it  retains  we  do  not 


A  PRIMER  OF  PEDAGOGY. 


19 


know.  It  acts  constantly  in  connection  with  simple  conception 
and  imagination.  In  many  cases  their  work  could  not  be  done 
without  the  aid  of  memory. 

How  memory  recalls. — The  memory  can  recall  and  repro¬ 
duce  a  few  things  instantly.  A  person  gives  his  name,  repeats 
the  alphabet,  answers  questions  on  the  multiplication  table 
without  stopping  to  think.  But  in  most  cases  it  takes  a  little 
time  to  bring  back  what  is  asked  for.  It  is  not  able  to  get  the 
thing  wanted  by  a  single  effort.  It  starts  with  one  thing,  that 
leads  on  to  another,  the  second  leads  to  a  third,  the  third  to  a 
fourth,  and  so  on  until  the  desired  object  is  reached  and  repro¬ 
duced.  All  these  various  things  are  said  to  be  associated  or 
fastened  together  in  the  mind,  so  that  any  one  of  them  will  aid 
the  memory  in  finding  the  others.  There  is  always  a  relation 
of  some  sort  between  objects  and  ideas  thus  associated.  The 
relations  which  cause  knowledge  to  he  associated  in  this  way 
are  called  laws  of  association. 

Laws  of  association. — The  most  important  of  these  laws  are, 
(1)  the  law  of  similarity ,  (2)  the  law  of  contrast ,  and  (3)  the  law 
of  contiguity.  That  is,  things  and  thoughts  are  associated  in 
the  mind  because  they  are  alike,  or  because  they  are  the  oppo¬ 
sites  of  one  another,  or  because  they  belong  in  the  same  time, 
or  at  the  same  place,  or  are  in  some  way  closely  related.  These 
laws  are  called  primary  and  objective. 

Conditions  of  mind  and  body. — In  addition  to  these  la^svs 
there  are  certain  conditions  and  states  both  of  mind  and  body 
which  help  the  power  of  memory  very  much.  For  this  reason 
such  conditions  are  sometimes  called  secondary  and  subjective 
laws  of  association. 

The  most  essential  of  these  are  (1)  attention ,  (2)  repetition , 


20 


A  PRIMER  OF  PEDAGOGY. 


(3)  proper  feeling ,  (4)  lapse  of  time ,  (5)  condition  of  mind ,  (6) 
condition  of  body ,  and  (7)  employments .  Those  things  are 
usually  easily  remembered  to  which  we  give  close  attention 
when  learning  them.  Some  things  are  fixed  in  the  memory 
simply  by  many  repetitions  ;  others  by  some  vivid  feeling  asso¬ 
ciated  with  them.  Things  can  be  easily  recalled  which  were 
learned  yesterday  ;  those  learned  a  long  time  ago  are  recalled 
less  readily.  If  the  mind  is  preoccupied,  or  the  body  is  full  of 
pain,  it  is  difficult  to  commit  a  lesson  to  memory. 

Finally,  men  readily  recall  things  connected  with  their  daily 
business. 

The  representative  or  conceptive  powers. — Simple  concep¬ 
tion ,  imagination  and  memory  are  grouped  together  and  called 
the  conceptive  or  representative  powers  of  the  mind. 

THINKING  ACTIVITIES. 

Thinking  processes. — Having  got  the  matter  of  knowledge 
by  the  perceptive  powers  we  hold  it  and  reproduce  it  by  the 
representative  powers,  and  then  go  on  to  examine,  arrange, 
and  classify  it  so  that  we  can  use  it  for  practical  purposes,  or 
as  means  by  which  to  obtain  additional  knowledge.  These 
processes  of  examining ,  sorting  over ,  and  arranging  we  call 
thinking . 

Analysis,  abstractions,  generalization. — Things  which  are 

i 

to  be  brought  together  into  the  same  class  must  possess  certain 
common  characteristics.  These  characteristics  form  the  basis 
of  the  classification.  In  order  to  find  such  characteristics, 
objects  must  be  carefully  and  thoroughly  examined.  This 
examination  is  called  analysis.  Then  these  common  charac¬ 
teristics  must  be  picked  out  from  the  others  and  united  into  a 


A  PRIMER  OF  PEDAGOGY. 


21 


complex  notion  or  concept.  This  process  is  termed  abstrac¬ 
tion.  Finally,  all  the  objects  which  have  these  qualities  are 
grouped  under  some  common  name.  This  last  act  is  called 
generalization. 

General  conception,  general  concepts. — The  mental  activity, 
by  which  these  three  complex  processes  of  analysis,  abstrac¬ 
tion,  and  generalization  are  performed,  is  named  general  con¬ 
ception  ;  and  the  mental  product  is  called  a  general  concept. 
This  is  the  simplest  thinking  operation  of  the  mind.  In  this 
way  we  form  the  ideas  or  notions  expressed  by  common 
nouns,  such  as  flowers,  roses,  apples,  horses,  houses,  books, 
and  so  on. 

The  judgment,  a  judgment. — We  are  constantly  comparing 
objects  and  pronouncing  them  alike  or  unlike.  The  young 
child  begins  by  comparing  sensations,  and  next  percepts,  or 
objects  about  him.  He  compares  persons,  animals,  flowers, 
fruits,  and  learns  to  discriminate  or  distinguish  one  from 
another.  The  mental  power  which  thus  compares  and  decides 
concerning  things  is  called  the  judgment ,  and  the  mental  prod¬ 
uct  is  named  a  judgment.  When  a  judgment  is  expressed  in 
words,  either  spoken  or  written,  it  is  termed  &  proposition  or  a 
sentence.  Stones  are  hard  ;  sugar  is  sweet ;  the  horse  is  worth 
a  hundred  dollars.  These  are  all  judgments  expressed  in 
propositions. 

Form  of  thinking. — This  forming  of  judgments  is  another  of 
the  thinking  processes;  most,  if  not  all,  our  thinking  takes  this 
form,  as  one  can  determine  by  analyzing  his  own  mental 
activities.  As  soon  as  the  child  has  learned  language  he  thinks 
in  words. 

Reasoning. — One  other  mode  of  thinking  is  called  reasoning . 


22 


A  PRIMER  OF  PEDAGOGY. 


In  this  judgments  are  compared.  We  assume  certain  things 
to  be  true,  and  then  say,  if  these  are  true  a  certain  other  thing 
must  be  true,  also.  For  example  :  Liars  are  bad  men  ;  this 
man  is  a  liar  ;  therefore,  this  man  is  bad. 


The  knowing  powers. — General  conception ,  judgment ,  and 
reasoning  form  the  group  of  thinking  powers .  The  three 


groups  together  constitute  the  knowing  powers  of  the  mind  or 
the  intellect. 


Synopsis 
of  the 
Knowing 
Powers. 


(  1.  Consciousness. 

1.  Perceptive  Powers.  __  -  2.  Sense  Perception. 

/  3.  Intuition. 


2.  Conceptive  or  Repre¬ 
sentative  Powers _ 


1.  Simple  Conception. 
|  2.  Imagination. 

3.  Memory. 


3.  Thinking  Powers 


(  1.  General  Conception. 
-  2.  Judgment. 

(  3.  Reasoning. 


THE  FEELINGS. 

Bodily  feelings. — The  body  of  the  child  is  susceptible  of  exci¬ 
tations  and  irritations  called  feelings.  Some  of  these  are  pleas¬ 
ant  and  agreeable  ;  others  are  painful  and  disagreeable.  When 
the  body  of  the  child  is  in  good  condition  the  processes  of  diges¬ 
tion,  assimilation,  and  respiration  are  attended  with  pleasur¬ 
able  feelings.  When  the  body  is  in  bad  condition  some  of  these 
processes  are  painful.  The  mental  activities  of  the  child  are 
much  influenced  by*  these  bodily  feelings ,  and  in  consequence 
of  them  he  is  good-natured  or  ill-natured. 

The  best  known  of  the  physical  feelings  are  the  appetites. 
Some  of  these  are  natural ,  such  as  the  appetite  for  food  and 
drink  ;  some  are  artificial ,  being  created  by  habits,  such  as  the 
appetite  for  tobacco,  for  opium,  and  for  intoxicating  liquors. 


A  PRIMER  OF  PEDAGOGY. 


23 


Mental  feelings. — The  mind,  also,  is  susceptible  of  excited 
states  called  feelings.  These  are  very  numerous,  but  as  they 
are  well  known  through  consciousness  it  will  be  sufficient  to 
mention  a  few  of  the  most  important. 

Classes  of  feelings — emotions. — There  are  (1)  the  emotions , 
such  as  the  feelings  of  pleasure,  pain,  joy,  sadness,  satisfac- 
-tion,  dissatisfaction;  the  higher  feelings  caused  by  wit,  humor, 
beauty,  sublimity,  and  many  others.  These  excitements  of 
mind  seem  to  rise  and  die  away  without  going  out  toward  per¬ 
sons  or  objects. 

Affections. — There  are  (2)  the  affections,  that  is,  feelings  of 
good-will  or  ill-will  which  seem  to  be  directed  towards  persons 
or  things  outside  of  ourselves.  Among  these  are  the  love  of 
parents  for  children,  of  children  for  parents,  of  members  of  a 
family  for  one  another,  of  friends  for  friends,  the  love  of  one’s 
country  and  countrymen.  Among  the  bad  affections  of  which 
the  soul  is  susceptible,  are  envy,  jealousy,  anger,  malice,  hatred 
and  revenge. 

Desires. — There  are  (3)  also  the  desires,  which  may  be  called 
cravings  or  longings  of  the  mind  for  things  which  are  supposed 
to  be  capable  of  giving  pleasure,  satisfaction,  enjoyment,  or 
advantage  of  some  sort.  The  desire  is  named  from  the  object 
desired,  as  the  desire  for  knowledge,  for  wealth,  honor, 
esteem,  power. 

Complex  feelings. — Some  feelings  are  very  complex.  Among 
these  are  hope,  which  is  made  up  of  desire  and  expectation  ; 
fear,  dread,  and  many  others. 

Important  for  the  teacher. — It  is  of  the  highest  importance 
to  the  teacher  to  understand  the  nature  of  the  feelings,  and 
how  they  are  aroused  and  allayed,  because  they  are  the  springs 


24 


A  PRIMER  OF  PEDAGOGY. 


of  action  in  the  mind  of  the  child.  They  influence,  if  they  do 
not  entirely  control,  his  conduct.  He  seeks  after  and  strives 
for  what  he  desires.  He  is  induced  to  act  by  exciting  the 
proper  desire. 

THE  WILL. 

Analysis  of  an  act  of  the  will. — The  will  consists  of  the 
mental  activities  exercised  in  choosing  and  determining ,  or  it  % 
may  be  called  the  executive  power  of  the  soul  ;  it  is  that 
exercise  of  mind  which  precedes  every  voluntary  act.  The 
series  of  mental  processes  which  result  in  an  act  of  willing 
seem  to  take  place  in  this  order  :  An  alternative  of  some  sort 
is  presented  ;  something  may  be  done  or  left  undone ;  one  of 
several  objects  may  be  had  ;  of  two  courses  of  conduct  one  is 
to  be  selected  ;  we  may  go,  or  remain  where  we  are. 

Order  of  the  mental  processes. — When  an  alternative  is 
thus  presented  the  mind  must  have  time  for  examination  and 
deliberation.  Reasons  for  and  against  are  considered,  argu¬ 
ments  are  weighed,  advantages  and  disadvantages  are  set  over 
against  each  other.  After  such  deliberation  a  choice  is  made  ; 
one  thing  or  object  is  preferred  to  another.  Then  the  final  act 
of  volition  or  determination  is  made,  and  the  process  of  willing 
is  completed.  In  all  cases  a  feeling  of  desire  immediately  pre¬ 
cedes  the  volition,  and  appears  to  be  almost  a  part  of  that  act. 

It  will  be  seen  that  the  mind  always  follows  this  order:  (1)  it 
knows,  (2)  feels,  (8)  wills  or  determines. 

Dealing  with  the  child. — In  dealing  with  the  child ,  there¬ 
fore ,  the  teacher  must  follow  this  same  order.  Give  the  knowl¬ 
edge  or  information  which  will  excite  desire.  In  this  way 
only  can  the  will  be  reached  and  moved.  Those  considerations 
or  objects  which  excite  desire  are  usually  termed  motives. 


A  PRIMER  OF  PEDAGOGY. 


25 


Strictly  speaking,  desire  is  the  motive,  but  it  is  convenient  and 
according  to  usage  to  apply  the  name  both  to  the  desire  and  to 
that  which  excites  the  desire.  The  exciting  cause  may  be  a 
real  external  object,  an  object  of  perception,  or  it  may  be 
only  an  object  of  thought,  a  product  of  the  representative 
power. 

Examples. — For  example,  something  which  he  values  is 
promised  to  a  child  to  induce  him  to  study  a  lesson  or  to 
behave  well.  The  desire  to  possess  the  object  moves  his  will, 
and  he  determines  to  study,  or  to  conduct  himself  properly. 
Instead  of  such  an  object  being  presented,  the  child  may  be 
told  of  the  pleasure  which  his  diligence  in  study,  his  progress 
in  learning,  or  his  good  conduct  will  give  to  his  mother  and 
father.  In  this  case  the  desire  of  giving  such  pleasure  produces 
the  needed  action  of  the  will.  When  something  is  done  by  a 
child  through  fear  of  punishment,  the  desire  to  avoid  pain  or 
disgrace  is  the  impelling  force.  In  these  cases  it  is  an  object  of 
thought  which  excites  the  feeling. 

THE  MORAL  NATURE. 

A  moral  being  — A  moral  being  is  a  being  capable  of  know¬ 
ing  right  from  wrong,  and  free  to  choose  between  them,  and  to 
do  whichever  he  pleases.  Only  such  a  being  can  be  blamed  or 
justly  punished  for  his  conduct.  Man  is  such  a  being. 

The  moral  nature. — The  moral  nature  of  the  child  consists 
of  those  powers  of  his  mind  which  enable  him  to  know  the 
right,  to  understand  the  reasons  why  he  should  choose  and  do 
the  right,  and  which  urge  and  impell  him  thus  to  choose  and 
do,'  giving  him  a  feeling  of  pleasure  and  enjoyment  when  he 
does  the  right,  and  a  feeling  of  pain  and  dissatisfaction  when 


A  PRIMER  OF  PEDAGOGY. 


26 

he  does  the  wrong.  With  a  single  exception  these  powers  are 
the  same  as  those  already  studied.  Their  activity  is  simply 
turned  in  a  different  direction,  and  exercised  upon  different 
subjects,  or  different  material.  They  are  called  moral  powers, 
because  their  activity  is  exercised  upon  questions  of  right  and 
wrong,  of  obligations  and  duties,  of  things  which  ought  or 
ought  not  to  be  done,  or  said,  or  thought,  or  felt. 

Moral  intuition. — Intuition  gives  the  child  the  primary 
notion  of  a  distinction  between  right  and  wrong ;  that  there  is 
a  right  and  a  wrong  about  which  he  has  ability  to  learn.  Intu¬ 
ition  does  not  teach  him  what  things  are  right  and  what  are 
wrong.  This  he  learns  by  other  powers. 

Moral  perception  and  judgment. — Moral  perception  enables 
him  to  discover  the  moral  qualities  of  many  very  simple  acts, 
and  states  of  mind.  But  the  right  or  wrong  of  all  things 
which  demand  study,  examination,  and  comparison  in  order  to 
barn  their  nature,  he  finds  out,  just  as  he  finds  out  other 
matters,  by  using  liis  thinking  poivers,  judgment  and  reason. 
He  must  be  taught  concerning  these  as  he  is  taught  reading, 
arithmetic,  grammar,  or  history.  He  learns  standards,  laws, 
or  rules  for  right  character  and  conduct,  and  decides  whether 
things  are  right  or  wrong  by  comparing  them  with  these  laws 
or  rules.  These  rules  are  the  moral  law,  so  called. 

Conscience. — Conscience,  which  is  the  only  power  peculiar 
to  what  is  called  the  moral  nature,  is  that  within  the  soul, 
which  insists  that  we  shall  do  what  we  believe  to  be  right  at  all 
times  and  under  all  circumstances.  The  judgment,  which 
decides  of  the  right  and  wrong  of  things,  may  make  mistakes; 
may  decide  that  to  be  right  which  is  not  right,  or  that  to  be 
wrong  which  is  not  wrong.  This  may  happen  through  ignor- 


A  PRIMER  OF  PEDAGOGY. 


27 


ance.  But  conscience  is  never  in  error,  and  is  always  to  be 
obeyed.  This  is  only  saying  that  we  should  always  do  what  we 
believe  to  be  right. 

Moral  feelings. — Obedience  to  conscience  is  attended  and 
followed  by  feelings  of  satisfaction  and  self -approval ;  diso¬ 
bedience  is  attended  and  followed  by  feelings  of  dissatisfaction 
and  self-condemnation,  sometimes  by  anguish  and  remorse. 
These  feelings  are  emotions.  The  affections  and  desires  are 
either  good  or  bad,  right  or  wrong,  and,  consequently,  are  a 
part  of  the  moral  nature.  The  same  may  be  said  of  all 
motives.  In  many  cases  an  act  is  good  or  bad  according  to  the 
character  of  the  motive  which  prompted  it.  This  is  recog¬ 
nized  by  parents  and  by  teachers,  and  even  in  courts  of  law. 
The  aim  of  the  teacher  should  be  to  lead  pupils  to  act  uni¬ 
formly  from  the  best  and  highest  motives. 

The  will.  Freedom  of  choice. — The  will  is  a  most  impor¬ 
tant  factor  in  the  moral  nature  because  it  determines  all  vol¬ 
untary  conduct.  Since  the  will  is  moved  by  desire,  and  desire 
is  excited  by  the  various  objects  about  us  which  we  call 
motives,  it  is  sometimes  said  that  we  are  not  free  to  choose  ; 
that  we  are  compelled  to  choose  according  to  what  is  called 
the  strongest  motive.  This  is  a  very  plausible  statement,  but 
it  is  easy  to  discover  its  fallacy.  There  is  no  absolutely 
strongest  motive.  We  can  make  objects  more  and  more 
attractive  by  giving  attention  to  them,  by  thinking  of  them 
constantly  or  frequently.  In  this  way  we  make  them  stronger 
motives.  We  can  make  objects  less  and  less  attractive  by 
keeping  them  out  of  our  thoughts,  by  turning  our  backs  upon 
them,  and  thinking  of  something  else.  We  thus  make  them 
weaker  motives.  It  requires  no  arguments  to  establish  this 


28 


A  PRIMER  OF  PEDAGOGY. 


since  every  one  is  conscious  of  possessing  power  to  do  so ,  and 
is  also  conscious  of  freedom  in  choosing.  Such  freedom  is 
recognized  everywhere,  and  children  and  men  are  punished 
for  bad  conduct  because  of  the  conviction  that  they  could 
have  done  otherwise. 

SUMMARY  OF  CHAPTER  II. 

1.  Why  it  is  necessary  to  study  the  child. 

2.  Illustration  of  the  training  of  a  horse. 

3.  The  child  complex,  body  and  mind. 

4.  The  nervous  system ;  nerves  and  their  offices. 

5.  Afferent  or  sensory  nerves;  efferent  or  motor  nerves. 

6.  The  five  senses,  and  the  knowledge  primarily  derived 
through  each. 

7.  Acquired  power  of  the  senses. 

8.  The  senses  instruments  of  the  mind. 

9.  The  mind.  Consciousness. 

10.  Relation  of  consciousness  to  the  senses. 

11.  Sensations.  Examples.  Beginnings  of  knowledge. 

12.  Perception;  a  percept. 

13.  Ideas  of  space  and  time:  how  obtained. 

14.  Intuition;  axioms. 

15.  The  group  of  perceptive  powers. 

16.  The  power  and  process  of  representation. 

17.  Examples  of  representation.  In  school. 

18.  Concepts:  how  they  differ  from  percepts. 

19.  Real  representation  or  simple  conception. 

20.  Ideal  representation.  Imagination. 

21.  Examples  of  the  work  of  imagination. 

22.  Imagination  in  school  work. 


A  PEI  ME  R  OF  PEDAGOGY. 


29 


23.  Memory:  how  it  usually  recalls. 

24.  What  laws  of  association  are. 

25.  Primary  and  objective  laws. 

26.  Secondary  and  subjective  laws. 

27.  The  group  of  representative  powers. 

28.  What  thinking  is,  strictly  speaking. 

29.  Analysis,  abstraction,  generalization. 

30.  General  conception;  general  concepts. 

31.  The  judgment;  a  judgment;  reasoning. 

32.  The  group  of  thinking  powers. 

33.  Synopsis  of  the  knowing  powers. 

34.  The  feelings,  bodily  appetites,  natural,  artificial. 

35.  Mental  feelings:  emotions,  affections,  desires,  complex 
feelings. 

36.  Importance  of  a  knowledge  of  the  feelings. 

37.  The  will:  analysis  of  an  act  of  the  will. 

38.  Order  of  the  mental  processes. 

39.  Examples  in  dealing  with  a  child. 

40.  The  moral  nature:  moral  intuition,  perception,  judgment, 
conscience. 

41.  The  moral  feelings. 

42.  The  will:  motives,  freedom  of  choice. 

43.  How  motives  are  made  stronger  and  weaker. 

44.  Why  men  are  responsible  for  their  conduct.  Testimony 
of  consciousness. 


30 


A  PRIMER  OF  PEDAGOGY. 


CHAPTER  III. 

THE  DEVELOPMENT  OF  THE  CHILD. 

Development  in  the  plant  and  animals  — A  grain  of  wheat 
contains  in  germ  everything  that  grows  from  it ;  but  the  vari¬ 
ous  parts  of  the  plant  appear  in  a  regular  and  uniform  order, 
“  first  the  blade,  then  the  ear,  then  the  full  corn  in  the  ear.” 
In  the  growth  and  development  of  animal  life  also  we  discover 
the  same  unvarying  regularity  and  uniformity.  One  power 
and  then  another,  and  still  another,  reaches  maturity;  the  ani¬ 
mal  passes  through  several  stages  or  periods  before  he 
becomes,  in  all  respects,  a  perfect  being  of  his  kind.  In  these 
different  stages  he  requires  different  degrees  of  care  and 
attention,  different  kinds  of  food,  and  various  differing  condi¬ 
tions.  The  man  who  raises  sheep  or  cattle  seeks  to  learn 
what  is  needed  during  each  stage,  and,  in  his  work,  directs 
his  efforts  accordingly.  The  gardener  does  the  same  in  cul¬ 
tivating  his  plants.  The  child  is  subject,  like  the  plant  and 
the  animal,  to  conditions  and  circumstances  in  his  growth  and 
development. 

Subject  of  chapter. — It  has  been  previously  stated  that  the 
processes  of  development,  training,  and  instruction  must  go 
on  at  the  same  time.  It  is  convenient,  however,  to  consider 
these  under  the  two  heads  of  development  and  instruction. 
This  chapter  will  treat  of  development,  and  of  some  inferences 
and  deductions  from  the  order  in  which  this  takes  place,  and 
from  the  means  employed  to  produce  it.  These  will  enable  us 
to  discover  ivhat  the  character  of  schools  should  be ,  what 
teaching  is,  and  ivhat  relation  the  teacher  sustains  to  the  work 


A  PRIMER  OF  PEDAGOGY. 


31 


of  education.  Methods  of  teaching  are  discussed  under  the 
head  of  instruction  in  the  following  chapters. 

Use  of  the  term  law. — When  just  the  same  things  take 
place  day  after  day  and  year  after  year  in  a  regular  and  unva¬ 
rying  order,  the  term  law  is  used  to  indicate  this  order,  or  to 
indicate  that  which  is  supposed  to  be  the  cause  of  this  regularity 
and  uniformity.  In  this  way  the  laws  of  nature  are  spoken  of. 
The  meaning  is  that  the  same  events  are  constantly  succeeding 
each  other,  and  that  some  unchanging  power  or  force  causes 
them  to  do  so. 

Laws  of  development. — As  the  development  of  a  child,  like 
the  development  of  a  plant  or  the  unfolding  of  a  flower,  pro¬ 
ceeds  with  such  regularity  and  uniformity  always  and  every¬ 
where,  if  not  interfered  with  by  violence  or  ignorance,  we 
may  properly  speak  of  laws  of  development.  These  laws  are 
easily  reduced  to  three,  which  may  be  called  (1)  the  law  of 
order  of  development,  (2)  the  law  of  condition  of  develop¬ 
ment,  and  (3)  the  law  of  means  of  development.  The  dis¬ 
cussion  which  follows  will  have  reference  chiefly  to  the 
development  of  the  intellect  or  the  knowing  powers  of  the 
mind. 

First  law. — (1)  The  law  of  order  of  development.  The 
mental  powers  and  activities  of  the  child  are  developed  and 
matured  in  a  regular  and  unvarying  order. 

The  order. — This  order  is  (1)  the  perceptive  activities ,  (2) 
the  conceptive  or  representative  activities ,  and  (3)  the  think¬ 
ing  activities.  It  is  not  to  be  understood  that  one  class  of 
activities  appear  and  come  to  a  good  degree  of  maturity 
before  the  next  class  begins  to  be  manifested.  The  germs  of 
all  forms  of  mental  activity  exist  in  the  child  from  the  very 


32 


A  PRIMER  OF  PEDAGOGY. 


beginning  of  life,  and  nearly  all  forms  of  activity  show  them¬ 
selves  in  some  degree,  even  in  the  young  child.  But  the  pre¬ 
dominating  activities  appear  in  the  order  named.  There  is 
first  the  vigorous  activity  of  the  senses,  then  of  memory  and 
representation,  and  lastly  of  judgment  and  reason. 

Inferences  from  this  law. — From  this  law  we  infer  (1) 
that  the  time  of  school  life  is  naturally  divided  into  three 
periods ,  and  that  each  period  has  certain  peculiarities  which 
distinguish  it  from  the  other  periods.  No  sharp  line  of  separa¬ 
tion  can  be  drawn  between  the  periods.  The  child  passes 
gradually  and  imperceptibly  from  one  to  another.  Comenius 
said,  truthfully,  “nature  never  moves  by  leaps.”  Little  by 
little  is  the  universal  law  in  all  her  operations. 

First  period. — (a)  The  first  period  is  childhood,  which  is 
characterized  by  the  marked  activity  of  the  perceptive  poivers, 
the  senses.  The  child  learns  by  seeing,  hearing,  and  handling 
things.  He  forgets  easily  and  reasons  very  poorly.  His  judg¬ 
ment  is  of  little  worth.  He  must  be  taught  chiefly  through 
the  senses ,  and  by  these  he  learns  with  marvelous  rapidity. 
His  feelings  are  as  variable  as  the  wind,  and  his  conduct  as 
capricious  as  his  feelings.  No  uniformity  of  behavior  can  be 
expected  of  him. 

Second  period. — (b)  The  second  period  is  youth,  which  is 
characterized  by  the  special  activity  of  the  representative 
poivers ,  memory  and  imagination.  The  senses  are  still  very 
active,  and  the  thinking  powers  begin  to  manifest  themselves 
to  a  considerable  degree.  During  this  time  the  pupil  makes 
great  progress  in  those  studies  which  depend  upon  the  mem¬ 
ory.  Language  is  readily  learned ;  facts  are  treasured  up; 
material  of  knowledge  is  gathered  ;  processes  are  easily  mas- 


A  PRIMER  OF  PEDAGOGY. 


33 


tered  in  mathematics  and  other  branches  of  science.  The  pupil 
is  fond  of  doing  things,  but  not  so  fond  of  explaining  the  rea¬ 
sons  for  the  doing.  He  should  he  instructed  especially  through 
the  mental  powers  ivhich  are  particidarly  active. 

Third  period. — (c)  The  third  period  may  be  called  maturity: 
not,  indeed,  full  maturity,  but  the  beginning  of  that  state. 
The  pupil  is  by  this  time  in  the  high  school,  or  in  the  most 
advanced  studies  of  the  ungraded  school.  This  period  is  char¬ 
acterized  by  the  growing  activities  of  the  thinking  powers, 
conception ,  judgment  and  reason.  The  senses,  as  instruments 
for  acquiring  knowledge,  take  a  subordinate  place.  The  activ¬ 
ity  of  memory  assumes  different  form.  Things  are  associated 
by  relations  which  were  not  discovered  or  understood  in  the 
previous  periods.  Effects  are  mentally  joined  with  their  causes; 
conclusions  are  united  with  the  premises  from  which  they  are 
derived;  results  are  associated  with  the  agents  and  events 
which  produced  them.  Teaching ,  both  in  form  and  matter , 
must  he  directed  chiefly  to  the  thinking  powers  of  the  student, 
who  is  no  longer  a  child. 

Second  inference. — (2)  The  second  inference  is  that  there 
should  be  three  classes  of  schools,  adapted  to  the  three  periods 
of  school  life,  and  to  the  three  groups  of  mental  powers. 

First  class  of  schools. — (a)  The  elementary  or  primary 
schools  constitute  the  first  class.  This  will  include  the  kinder¬ 
garten,  the  lower  classes  in  the  graded  schools,  and  the  pri¬ 
mary  classes  in  the  ungraded  schools.  These  schools  should 
be  adapted  to  the  characteristics  and  needs  of  pupils  in  the 
period  of  childhood  in  all  respects.  The  schoolroom,  the  fur¬ 
niture,  blackboards,  apparatus,  studies,  methods  of  teaching, 
length  of  lessons  and  recitations,  provisions  for  physical  exer- 
.  3 


34 


A  PRIMER  OF  PEDAGOGY. 


cise  and  recreation,  should  have  reference  to  the  peculiarities 
of  young  pupils. 

Second  class  of  schools. — (6)  The  secondary  schools  properly 
include  the  higher  classes  of  the  grammar  departments,  the 
lower  classes  of  the  high  schools,  and  the  advanced  classes  in 
the  ungraded  schools.  These  schools  should  he  adapted,  in  all 
the  particulars  previously  mentioned ,  to  the  characteristics 
and  needs  of  the  period  of  youth. 

Third  class  of  schools. — (c)  The  advanced  schools  include 
the  most  advanced  classes  in  the  ordinary  high  schools,  and 
all  higher  institutions  of  learning.  These  must  he  adapted  to 
the  needs  of  students  in  the  period  of  maturity,  and  will  vary 
in  character  and  arrangements  according  to  the  special  pur¬ 
pose  of  the  school. 

Third  inference. — (3)  The  third  inference  is  that  methods, 
means,  and  appliances  of  teaching  are  naturally  grouped  into 
three  divisions. 

(a)  Elementary  methods  and  appliances,  adapted  to  child¬ 
hood. 

( h )  Secondary  methods  and  appliances,  adapted  to  youth, 
and —  ^ 

(c)  Advanced  methods  and  appliances,  adapted  to  maturity 
and  to  the  purposes  of  the  institution  in  which  they  are  em¬ 
ployed.  Methods  of  instruction  are  treated  in  the  next  chapter. 
It  is  sufficient  to  say  here  that  instructors  in  methods  not  unfre- 
quently  lead  their  pupils  into  error  by  neglecting  to  keep  in 
mind  these  necessary  divisions  and  distinctions. 

Second  law. — (2)  Second  law,  condition  of  development : 
The  powers  of  the  child  are  developed  and  matured  only  on 
condition  of  being  properly  exercised.  This  is  true  of  both  of 


A  PRIMER  OF  PEDAGOGY. 


35 


the  powers  of  body  and  mind.  Any  muscle,  any  limb,  any 
organ  of  the  body,  never  put  to  use,  fails  to  become  strong  and 
vigorous.  The  same  is  true  of  any  power  of  the  mind,  of  the 
senses,  the  memory,  the  judgment ;  of  the  affections,  of  the 
will,  and  of  the  moral  nature.  If  anything  is  to  be  made  of 
the  child  he  must,  in  some  way,  be  induced  to  act.  Activity 
is  the  law  of  life,  and  the  activity  must  be  voluntary,  or  self¬ 
activity.  The  child  must  act  because  he  desires  to  act,  must 
use  his  senses  because  he  is  impelled  from  within  to  use  them. 
It  is  the  teacher's  business  to  excite  this  desire  by  the  material 
and,  methods  which  he  employs.  If  he  fails  in  this  his  teach¬ 
ing  is  worthless. 

A  single  inference. — A  single  inference  is  drawn  from  this 
law.  Provision  should  be  made  in  all  schools  and  by  all 
teachers  to  secure  appropriate  exercise  for  all  the  powers  of 
their  pupils.  The  kind  of  provision  which  should  be  made 
will  be  determined  by  the  character  of  the  school,  by  the  age 
of  the  pupils,  and  by  surrounding  conditions  and  circum¬ 
stances.  The  provision  in  the  primary  school  and  in  the  kin¬ 
dergarten  must,  of  course,  be  very  different  from  that  in  the 
grammar  department  or  in  the  high  school.  In  the  elementary 
schools  care  must  be  taken  to  provide  exercise  for  the  body  as 
well  as  for  the  mind. 

Third  law. — (3)  Third  law,  means  of  development.  Appro¬ 
priate  matter  for  study  properly  presented  to  the  mind  of 
the  child  produces  this  necessary  self -activity. 

Illustration,  etc. — The  law,  as  here  stated,  refers  only  to 
the  mental  powers.  The  term  matter  includes  all  objects  and 
subjects  of  study  in  the  schools  or  elsewhere.  The  natural 
effect  of  presenting  the  right  kind  of  matter  for  study,  in  the 


36 


A  PRIMER  OF  PEDAGOGY. 


right  way,  to  the  perceptive  or  other  mental  activities  of  a 
child  may  be  illustrated  by  reference  to  the  action  of  the 
digestive  and  related  organs  of  the  body  when  food  is  pre¬ 
sented  to  them.  If  the  right  kind  of  food,  properly  prepared 
and  of  proper  quantity  is  introduced  into  the  stomach,  the 
digestive  organs  begin  to  act  of  their  own  accord  at  once. 
There  is  no  necessity  for  coaxing,  or  threatening,  or  driving; 
no  prizes  or  rewards  are  necessary.  The  healthy  child,  at  the 
table,  finds  sufficient  stimulation  in  his  natural  appetite  if  the 
food  is  adapted  to  his  age  and  wants. 

Appetite  of  the  mind. — The  mind  has  an  appetite  as  well 
as  the  body.  In  the  young  child  we  call  this  appetite  curiosity; 
in  the  more  advanced  pupil,  love  of  knowledge.  The  material 
of  knowledge  is  the  food  of  the  mind.  The  mind  enjoys  hear¬ 
ing,  seeing,  and  the  action  of  the  other  senses,  as  much  a§ 
the  palate  enjoys  the  taste  of  delicious  food  in  the  mouth. 
The  thinking  powers  find  as  much  pleasure  in  sorting  over, 
comparing,  and  arranging  matters  of  study  as  the  digestive 
organs  of  the  body  do  in  their  work.  The  powers  of  the  mind 
grow,  develop,  and  gain  strength  and  energy,  by  receiving  and 
digesting  mental  food  as  the  powers  of  the  body  do  by  receiv¬ 
ing  and  digesting  material  food. 

First  inference. — (a)  The  first  inference  from  the  third  law, 
therefore,  is  this:  The  primary  relation  of  knowledge ,  that  is , 
of  all  subjects  of  study,  to  the  education  of  a  child  is  that  of 
means  to  an  end.  The  end  proposed  is  the  complete  develop¬ 
ment,  the  thorough  training,  and  the  proper  instructing  of  the 
pupil.  The  various  studies,  presented  to  the  mind  in  the  right 
way  and  at  the  right  time,  excite  the  mental  activities  which 
produce  these  results. 


A  PRIMER  OP  PEDAGOGY. 


37 


Another  relation. — Knowledge  has  also  another  relation  to 
education.  It  is,  to  a  certain  extent ,  an  end  in  itself ;  it  is 
useful  in  practical-  life.  Things  are  taught  and  learned 
because  they  will  be  of  service  in  business,  and  in  various 
ways.  So-called  practical  people  usually  think  only  of  this 
relation,  just  as  they  think  of  food  only  as  the  means  of  grati¬ 
fying  their  appetites.  The  food,  however,  serves  its  primary 
purpose  of  nourishing  the  body  and  securing  its  development, 
even  better,  probably,  because  this  purpose  is  not  thought  of 
while  it  is  received.  So  the  primary  purpose  of  acquiring 
knowledge  is  accomplished  nearly  as  well  when  only  the 
secondary  purpose  is  kept  in  view.  Useful  knowledge  pro¬ 
motes  mental  growth  and  development  as  well  as  any  other, 
though  not  always  in  precisely  the  same  direction. 

Second  inference.—  (b)  The  second  inference  from  this  law 
gives  us  a  tolerably  complete  statement  of  what  real  teaching 
is.  Teaching  is  presenting  appropriate  matter  for  study  to 
the  learner  in  such  a  way  as  to  excite  the  necessary  and 
proper  mental  activity ,  and  giving  right  direction  to  this 
activity.  If  this  statement  is  correct,  it  is  easy  to  see  what  the 
teacher’s  work  is.  It  is  not,  in  any  strict  construction  of  lan¬ 
guage,  to  impart  knowledge  or  to  give  information.  It  is  rather 
to  bring  the  mind  of  the  pupil  and  the  matter  of  study,  the 
thing  to  be  learned,  face  to  face,  so  to  speak;  to  place  the  two 
in  such  relation  that  the  activities  of  the  mind  shall  be  so 
aroused,  excited,  and  allured  that  they  must  and  will  do  their 
proper  work,  will  seize  hold  upon  the  thing  to  be  learned  and 
will  not  loosen  their  grasp  until  it  is  mastered.  Knowledge  is 
not  imparted  to  the  child  by  this  process.  It  is  simply  put 
within  his  reach,  and  he  is  directed,  encouraged,  and  aided, 


38 


A  PRIMER  OF  PEDAGOGY. 


so  far  as  may  be  necessary,  to  make  it  his  own.  The  teacher 
does  not  feed  the  child,  but  helps  him  to  feed  himself  ;  does  not 
carry  him  up  the  hill  and  over  the  rough  places,  but  points  out 
the  path  and  assists  him  to  walk  alone. 

The  best  teacher. — He  is  not  the  best  teacher  who  does  the 
most  for  his  pupil,  but  rather  he  ivlio  enables  the  child  to  do 
most  for  himself.  He  can  do  most  for  the  child  who  knows 
most  perfectly  the  child’s  nature,  and  understands  the  influ¬ 
ences  and  motives  which  impel  him  to  action,  and  who  has 
the  practical  skill,  gained  by  observation  and  experience,  so 
to  touch  the  sensibilities  of  the  pupil  as  to  bring  out  the  very 
best  there  is  in  him — his  best  mental  activity,  and  his  noblest 
moral  qualities. 

RECAPITULATION. 

The  three  laws  of  development  and  the  inferences  from  them 
enable  us  to  reach  definite  conclusions  in  relation  to  several 
matters  of  great  practical  importance  to  every  teacher  who 
wishes  to  have  clear  ideas  of  what  schools  should  be,  of  what 
real  teaching  is,  and  of  what  his  own  duties  are  toward  the 
children  whom  he  assumes  to  instruct  and  guide. 

1.  They  determine  what  the  general  character  of  the  differ¬ 
ent  classes  of  schools  should  be. 

2.  They  guide  in  the  selection  and  arrangement  of  the 
branches  and  parts  of  branches  of  study  to  be  pursued  in  each 
class  of  schools.  The  studies  must  be  adapted  to  the  needs  and 
the  predominant  mental  activities  of  the  pupils. 

3.  They  show  the  primary  and  secondary  relation  of  knowl¬ 
edge  to  education  :  first,  the  relation  of  means  ;  second,  that  of 
an  end  ;  the  two  being  compatible  with  each  other. 


A  PRIMER  OF  PEDAGOGY. 


39 


4.  They  help  us  to  see  just  what  real  teaching  is  or  should  be, 
and  what  relation  it  sustains  to  the  education  of  a  child. 

5.  This  enables  us  to  discover  precisely  what  the  work  of  the 
true  teacher  is,  and  what  the  criterion  of  excellency  in  that 
work  should  be. 

6.  These  laws  determine  what  should  be  taught  during  each 
period  of  school  life,  but  do  not  indicate  definitely  how  the 
teaching  should  be  done,  that  is,  do  not  determine  specific 
methods  of  teaching. 

SUMMARY. . 

1.  Illustration  of  development  in  the  plant  and  animal. 

2.  Subject  of  the  chapter,  development. 

3.  What  the  inferences  from  the  order  of  development  will 
show  us. 

4.  Use  of  the  term  law  ;  what  laws  of  nature  are. 

5.  Names  of  the  three  laws  of  development. 

6.  State  the  first  law. 

7.  Give  the  order  in  which  the  groups  of  powers  are  devel¬ 
oped. 

8.  One  power  not  fully  developed  before  another  begins  to 
be  active. 

9.  First  inference  from  first  law. 

10.  The  characteristics  of  the  first  period  of  school  life. 

11.  How  the  child  must  be  taught  during  this  period. 

12.  The  characteristics  of  the  second  period  of  school  life. 

1 3.  How  teaching  should  be  done  in  this  period. 

14.  The  characteristics  of  the  third  period  of  school  life. 

15.  How  teaching  should  be  directed  during  this  period. 

16.  Second  inference  from  the  first  law. 

17.  What  the  first  class  of  schools  should  be. 


40 


A  PRIMER  OF  PEDAGOGY. 


18.  What  the  second  class  should  be. 

19.  What  the  third  class  should  be. 

20.  Third  inference  from  first  law. 

21.  The  second  law  of  development. 

22.  The  teacher’s  duty  to  excite  desire. 

28.  The  single  inference  from  the  second  law. 

24.  The  third  law  of  development. 

25.  Illustration  by  reference  to  the  action  of  the  digestive 
organs  of  the  body. 

26.  Appetite  of  the  mind. 

27.  First  inference  from  the  third  law ;  first  relation  of 
knowledge  to  education. 

28.  Another  relation  ;  the  two  relations  not  incompatible. 

29.  The  second  inference  from  the  third  law  ;  definition  of 
teaching. 

80.  Real  work  of  the  teacher. 

31.  The  best  teacher. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

INSTRUCTION,  OR  TEACHING  AND  TRAINING. 

Method. — Method  is  a  way  to  an  end.  Hamilton  says,  “All 
method  is  a  rational  progress,  a  progress  toward  an  end.” 
“  Method  is  the  way  of  reaching  a  gi  ven  end  by  a  series  of  acts 
which  tend  to  secure  it.” 

Methods  in  teaching. — Methods  in  teaching  are  ivays  by 
which  the  teacher  seeks  to  reach  desired  results.  For  example, 
the  alphabetic,  phonic,  and  word  methods  are  so  many  dif- 


A  PRIMER  OF  PEDAGOGY. 


41 


ferent  ways  of  teaching  young  children  to  recognize  at  sight 
the  forms  of  written  and  printed  words,  and  to  utter  correctly 
the  sounds  indicated  by  the  characters.  The  method  adopted 
will  include  the  whole  series  of  acts  and  processes  involved 
in  arranging  and  teaching  a  single  lesson  or  in  teaching  a  num¬ 
ber  of  consecutive  and  related  lessons. 

What  determines  methods? — What  determines  correct 
methods  of  teaching?  and  how  can  these  methods  be  most 
readily  and  surely  learned?  The  laws  of  development,  as 
already  stated,  will  guide  in  the  selection  of  matter  to  be 
studied  and  taught  during  the  different  periods  of  school  life, 
but  they  do  not  indicate  clearly  in  what  way  subjects  of  study 
should  be  presented  ;  that  is,  they  do  not  determine  methods  of 
teaching. 

An  illustration. — An  illustration  will  show  the  answer  to 
these  questions.  The  student  of  -physical  science  wishes  to 
put  what  we  call  the  forces  of  nature  to  doing  some  work 
for  him  ;  to  make  electricity  light  up  the  streets  of  a  city  or 
turn  the  wheels  of  a  street  car,  or  transmit  a  message 
through  a  telegraph  wire.  He  first  seeks  to  discover  how  the 
forces  of  nature  act  when  left'  to  themselves.  He  makes 
experiments  ;  questions,  watches,  waits,  listens,  and  exercises 
long  patience.  He  learns  that  certain  results  follow  cer¬ 
tain  conditions  arranged  in  a  particular  way,  and  that  these 
results  do  not  follow  any  other  arrangement  of  conditions 
or  circumstances.  After  a  sufficient  number  of  repetitions  he 
becomes  satisfied  that  he  has  discovered  what  he  names  a 
law  of  nature.  He  arranges  the  necessary  conditions  and 
thus  makes  nature  his  servant.  His  methods  are  merely 
imitations  and  copies  of  nature's  methods,  and  the  measure 


42 


A  PRIMER  OF  PEDAGOGY. 


of  his  success  will  be  determined  by  the  perfection  of  the 
imitation.  The  scientist  obeys  nature  in  order  to  command 
her  ;  in  his  work  he  follows  her  teachings  and  applies  her 
instructions. 

What  the  true  teacher  does. — The  true  teacher  imitates 
the  scientist.  His  object  is  to  learn  in  what  way  he  may 
teach  the  child  most  successfully.  In  order  to  do  this  he 
must  ascertain  in  what  way ,  by  what  methods ,  the  child 
learns  when  left  to  himself.  He  must  discover  by  intelligent 
observation,  by  long  and  patient  searching,  if  need  be,  what 
forms  of  activity  the  child’s  mind  exhibits  when  acting 
spontaneously  without  either  constraint  or  restraint.  He 
must  notice  in  what  order  these  natural  activities  manifest 
themselves,  what  relation  appears  to  exist  between  them, 
and  what  conditions  and  circumstances  seem  to  be  neces¬ 
sary  to  render  their  action  most  fruitful.  Having  made 
such  discoveries,  the  teacher  has  only  to  create  the  required 
conditions  and  to  follow  the  mind's  own  order  and  methods 
of  working.  If  it  is  discovered  that  the  mind  seeks  to  grasp 
or  take  in  the  material  of  knowledge  in  a  particular  way 
and  form,  the  teacher  should  present  it  in  that  way  and 
form.  If  the  mind  proceeds  to  elaborate  its  knowledge,  that 
is,  to  sort  it  over,  arrange,  and  classify  it^  in  some 
uniform  order  and  by  some  specific  method,  the  teacher 
must  adopt  this  order  and  method  in  his  work  of  instruction. 
If  the  mind  retains  and  reproduces  its  acquisitions  through 
the  spontaneous  action  of  certain  natural  laws  of  associa¬ 
tion,  the  teacher  must  learn  these  laws  and  make  constant 
use  of  them  in  all  school  exercises.  This  is  a  rational  inter¬ 
pretation  of  the  maxim  of  Comenius  that,  “  Educational 


A  PKIMER  OF  PEDAGOGY. 


43 


methods  should  follow  the  order  of  nature,”  although  it  may 
not  be  the  usual  one. 

Conclusion. — We  reach  this  conclusion  :  Methods  of  teach¬ 
ing  are  determined  by  the  natural  modes  of  the  mind's 
activity.  The  teacher’s  ways  of  working  must  conform  to  the 
mind’s  ways  of  working.  Right  methods  of  teaching  are 
such  as  follow  the  path  along  which  the  mind  goes  when  free 
to  choose  its  own  way,  incited  by  its  innate  love  of  activity. 
This  is  “  following  nature.”  This  leads  us  to  inquire  concern¬ 
ing  some  of  the  most  important  and  characteristic  forms 
or  modes  of  mental  activity  and  the  methods  of  teaching 
deduced  from  them. 

General  forms  of  mental  action. — Some  forms  of  mental 
action  are  common  to  all  periods  of  life ,  to  all  stages  of  devel¬ 
opment,  and  to  all  conditions  and  circumstances.  These  are 
essentially  the  same  in  nature  in  the  child  and  in  the  man. 
They  differ  only  in  degree  and  in  productiveness. 

Special  forms  of  mental  action. — Some  other  forms  of  men¬ 
tal  activity  are  pecidiar  to  particular  periods  of  life ,  to  special 
stages  of  development,  and  to  peculiar  conditions  and  circum¬ 
stances.  Childhood  has  its  own  peculiar  psychical  activities, 
and  so  also  have  youth  and  maturity. 

General  laws  of  mind. — Statements  of  these  universal  or 
general  modes  of  mental  action  may  be  called  general  laws 
of  mind.  From  these  general  laws  of  mind  equally  general 
laivs  of  teaching  may  be  deduced.  These  laws  of  teaching  are, 
in  substance,  descriptions  of  methods  of  teaching. 

Four  such  laws. — These  general  laws  of  mind  are  easily 
reduced  to  four ;  the  first  relates  to  the  method  by  which  the 
mind  grasps  or  receives  knowledge ;  the  second  relates  to  the 


44 


A  PRIMER  OF  PEDAGOGY. 


method  ichich  the  mind  employs  in  assimilating  or  arrang¬ 
ing  its  knowledge  in  proper  order  so  that  raw  material  becomes 
real  knowledge ;  the  third  relates  to  the  methods  or  processes 
by  which  the  m\nd  is  able  to  retain  and  reproduce  its  acqui¬ 
sitions  when  it  wishes  to  use  them ;  and  the  fourth  relates  to 
certain  conditions  necessary  in  order  that  the  mind  may  do 
the  best  work  of  which  it  is  capable . 

That  the  relation  between  them  may  be  readily  seen,  the 
laws  of  mind  and  the  corresponding  laws  of  teaching  are 
arranged  side  by  side. 


GENERAL  LAWS  OF  MIND. 

I.  First  Law  of  Mind. 

The  mind,  at  all  periods  of 

development,  grasps  or  re¬ 
ceives  the  material  of  knowl¬ 
edge,  or  that  which  it  is  learn¬ 
ing,  in  the  form  of  wholes  or 
aggregates  and  masses,  as  far 
as  this  is  possible. 

II.  Second  Law  of  Mind . 

a.  In  studying,  thinking  over, 
and  arranging  the  matter  which 
it  has  received,  the  mind  pro¬ 
ceeds  first  from  wholes  to  parts, 
from  aggregates  and  masses  to 
elements,  thus  attaining  com¬ 
plete  and  definite  knowledge. 
This  process  is  analysis. 

b.  Afterwards  the  mind  pro¬ 
ceeds  to  put  these  parts  and 


GENERAL  LAWS  OF  TEACHING. 

I.  First  Law  of  Teaching. 
The  teacher  should  present 

the  material  of  knowledge,  or 
that  which  is  to  be  taught,  to 
the  mind  of  the  learner  in  the 
form  of  wholes  or  aggregates 
and  masses,  as  far  as  this  is 
possible. 

II.  Second  Law  of  Teaching. 

a.  The  teacher,  in  aiding  the 
learner  to  acquire  definite  and 
complete  knowledge,  should 
proceed  first  by  analysis,  from 
wholes  to  parts,  and  from  ag¬ 
gregates  and  masses  to  ele¬ 
ments,  giving  full  explana¬ 
tions  and  illustrations. 

b.  Afterwards  he  should 
teach  how  these  parts  and 


A  PRIMER  OF  PEDAGOGY. 


45 


elements  may  be  put  together 
by  synthesis,  into  new  wholes 
and  aggregates,  and  should 
give  the  pupil  much  practice 
in  this  work. 

Fundamental  laws. — These  are  the  great  fundamental  laws 
of  learning  and  teaching.  Their  application  covers  a  large 
part  of  the  teacher’s  work  in  all  classes  of  schools.  It  is  there¬ 
fore  desirable  to  be  sure  that  these  statements  are  correct, 
and  that  the  mind  does  proceed  in  the  order  named,  first  ana¬ 
lyzing  and  then  reuniting. 

How  the  senses  present  knowledge. — The  senses  are  the 
activities  through  which  the  mind  gets  the  beginnings  of  all 
its  knowledge.  In  what  form  or  condition  do  the  senses  pre¬ 
sent  things  to  the  mind  ?  Our  own  experience  enables  us  to 
answer  at  once.  If  an  object,  like  an  apple  or  an  orange, 
which  affects  several  of  the  senses,  is  brought  before  us,  all  the 
senses  affected  respond  simultaneously.  Sensations  of  sight, 
touch,  taste  and  smell  force  themselves  in  upon  the  mind  in  a 
confused  mass.  We  have  at  first  only  a  very  general  and  very 
confused  idea  of  the  object.  We  have  a  great  number  of  par¬ 
tial  and  imperfect  percepts,  such  as  one  gets  from  a  single  and 
hasty  glance.  We  have  yet  no  real  knowledge.  What  takes 
place  ?  The  mind  proceeds  immediately  and  spontaneously  to 
examine  the  sensations  one  by  one,  now  giving  attention  to 
the  color,  the  form,  the  size  ;  now  to  the  character  of  the  sur¬ 
face,  whether  it  be  smooth  or  rough  ;  now  to  the  hardness  or 
softness  ;  now  to  the  smell  and  taste.  This  process  of  analysis 
goes  on  until  every  quality  or  characteristic  which  can  affect 
any  one  of  the  senses  has-been,  in  turn ,  thoroughly  investi¬ 
gated.  The  idea  of  the  object  is  no  longer  confused  and  indis- 


elements  together  into  new 
wholes  and  aggregates,  in  this 
way  increasing  its  knowledge 
and  making  it  productive. 
This  process  is  synthesis. 


46 


A  PKIMER  OF  PEDAGOGY. 


tinct.  The  final,  complete  percept  has  become  a  collection  of 
individual  elements,  each  of  which  can  be  made,  and  has  been 
made,  a  separate  object  of  thought.  Synthesis  here  has  per¬ 
haps  almost  unconsciously,  followed  the  analysis.  The  object 
has  been,  so  to  speak,  taken  to  pieces  and  put  together  again. 

Examples. — Essentially  the  same  processes  take  place  when¬ 
ever  any  new  object  of  perception  is  presented  to  the  senses  as 
a  body,  or  to  any  single  sense.  When  listening  to  a  choir  of 
singers  or  to  the  music  of  an  orchestra,  a  great  aggregate  of 
mingled  sounds  of  voices  or  instruments  strikes  simultaneously 
upon  the  ear,  and  produces  a  confused  mass  of  sensations.  It 
is  only  by  fixing  the  attention  on  the  tones  of  singles  voices  or 
the  notes  of  particular  instruments  th&t  we  attain  anything 
like  definite  knowledge. 

How  the  child  gains  knowledge. — The  child,  till  he  enters 
school,  is  constantly  gaining  knowledge  in  this  way,  is  analyz¬ 
ing  wholes  and  aggregates  to  find  their  parts  and  elements. 
Thus  he  learns  trees,  and  flowers,  and  fruits,  indeed  all  things 
about  him.  This  is  Nature's  method  of  instruction .  Progress 
is  not  “  from  the  simple  to  the  complex,”  but  rather  “from  the 
complex  to  the  simple.” 

Hamilton. — Hamilton  says:  “The  first  procedure  of  the 
mind  in  the  elaboration  of  its  knowledge  is  always  analytical. 
It  descends  from  the  whole  to  the  parts,  from  the  vague  to  the 
definite.  Having  first  acquired  a  comprehensive  knowledge 
(that  is,  a  general  notion)  of  a  thing  as  a  whole,  we  can  descend 
to  its  several  parts,  consider  these  both  in  themselves  and  in 
relation  to  each  other,  and  to  the  wholes  of  which  they  are  con¬ 
stituents,  and  thus  attain  to  a  complete  and  articulate  knowl¬ 
edge  of  the  object.”  '  •  , 


A  PRIMER  OF  PEDAGOGY. 


47 


Caution. — A  word  of  caution  may  be  necessary.  It  is  easy 
to  misniterpret  or  misapply  a  general  truth  or  rule.  A  whole 
may  be  too  great  for  the  senses  or  the  mind  to  grasp  by  one 
effort.  A  whole  of  sight  must  be  limited  to  the  field  of  distinct 
vision.  The  whole  presented  to  any  sense  cannot  be  extended 
beyond  the  reach  of  that  sense.  A  great  whole  is  often  sus¬ 
ceptible  of  natural  division  into  several  lesser  wholes,  each  com¬ 
plete  in  itself.  It  is  only  necessary  that  there  be  a  complete¬ 
ness  and  unity.  “  The  whole  may  be  a  whole  man,  or  only  his 
face,  or  his  eye,  or  the  pupil  of  his  eye,  or  even  a  mere  speck 
upon  the  pupil.5'  The  whole,  in  each  case,  will  be  determined 
by  the  purpose  in  view,  by  the  end  to  be  attained. 

Illustrations. — A  few  examples  will  illustrate  how  the  teacher 
may  apply  these  two  laws,  which  require  us  to  begin  with  a 
whole,  and  proceed  first  by  analysis  and  then  by  synthesis. 

Teaching  reading. — Of  the  various  methods  of  teaching 
young  children  to  read,  the  alphabetic  and  phonic  are  synthetic. 
The  first  begins  with  elements  addressed  to  the  eye, — letters  ; 
the  second  begins  with  elements  addressed  to  the  ear, — sounds. 
Both  proceed  to  combine  elements  to  form  wholes,  words  and 
sentences.  Two  other  methods,  though  the  two  are  really  but 
one,  the  word  and  the  sentence  methods,  are  analytic,  begin¬ 
ning  with  wholes  in  the  form  of  single  words  or  short  sen¬ 
tences.  These  words  are  then  separated  into  their  elements, 
single  letters  and  sounds,  by  analysis ;  afterwards  these  ele¬ 
ments  are  combined  to  form  new  words  and  sentences. 

From  the  known  to  the  unknown. — In  all  teaching  the 
maxim,  “  Proceed  from  the  known  to  the  unknown ,”  rightly 
interpreted,  should  be  followed.  Suppose  the  maxim  to  mean 
this :  When  presenting  a  new  lesson ,  or  a  new  subject ,  to  a 


48 


A  PRIMER  OF  PEDAGOGY. 


child ,  make  what  the  child  already  knows  the  starting  point , 
and  from  this  lead  him ,  by  natural  and  easy  steps ,  grasp 
and  master  the  new ,  the  now  unknoivn  thing.  The  unknown, 
selected  as  the  point  of  departure,  should  be  chosen  with  careful 
reference  to  some  obvious  relation  existing  between  it  and  the 
unknown  thing  which  is  to  be  learned. 

The  known  to  the  child  in  the  reading  lesson. — The  child, 
commencing  to  learn  to  read,  knows  many  objects,  qualities, 
acts,  and  relations  of  things  ;  and  he  also  knows  the  spoken 
names  or  signs  of  all  these.  The  spoken  signs,  that  is,  the 
words,  are  known  as  wholes  ;  and  the  words  and  what  they 
represent  are  thoroughly  associated  in  the  mind  so  that  either 
will  immediately  suggest  the  other.  So  much  is  the  unknown. 
The  unknown  consists  of  a  set  of  new  signs,  addressed  to  the 
eye,  that  is,  written  or  printed  words.  These  are  to  be  learned 
and  mentally  associated  with  the  spoken  words  and  also  with 
the  objects  and  acts  which  they  represent.  The  spoken  word 
is  here  the  starting  point.  The  step  from  this  to  the  written 
word,  taken  as  a  whole,  is  short,  direct  and  easy.  It  conforms 
to  the  law  :  Begin  with  the  whole. 

First  step. — Teach  first ,  therefore ,  a  number  of  ivords  or 
short  sentences  as  wholes.  This  work  can  be  done  most  effect¬ 
ively  by  the  use  of  the  blackboard  and  crayon.  The  maxim, 
“  One  thing  at  a  time,”  should  be  kept  in  mind.  Do  not  try  to 
teach  too  many  new  words  at  one  lesson.  Sometimes  a  single 
new  word  will  be  enough.  When  the  new  words  have  certain 
similarities  to  words  already  taught,  several  may  be  included 
in  a  lesson,  perhaps  three  or  four.  Suppose  the  sentence,  The 
boy  runs ,  has  been  taught.  Taking  this  as  a  beginning,  intro¬ 
duce  new  words  to  form  the  sentences,  The  girl  runs,  The 


A  PRIMER  OF  PEDAGOGY. 


49 


horse  runs,  The  dog  runs,  and  so  on  indefinitely.  The  sentence 
may  be  varied  in  other  ways  ;  as  :  The  boy  ivalks,  The  boy 
sits,  The  boy  sta?ids ;  or,  after  several  nouns  and  verbs  have 
been  learned,  in  this  way  :  The  boy  runs  up  the  hill ;  The  boy 
runs  down  the  hill ;  The  boy  runs  over  the  hill.  Another 
change  should  be  made,  at  the  proper  time,  by  introducing  the 
plural  number,  as  :  The  boys  run.  The  attention  of  the  class 
should  be  directed  to  the  slight  changes  in  the  forms  of  the 
words,  and  several  sentences  should  be  taught  to  illustrate 
these  changes. 

These  examples  are  sufficient  to  show  what  is  meant  by 
beginning  with  a  whole  in  teaching  young  children  to  read. 
This  method  imitates  and  follows  nature,  and  it  also  goes  from 
the  known  to  the  unknown  in  a  natural  way.  This  is  merely 
the  first  step,  however. 

The  second  step.— The  second  step  is  to  analyze  or  sepa¬ 
rate  the  words,  which  have  been  learned  as  wholes,  into  their 
parts  or  elements ;  that  is,  into  the  separate  letters  and  sounds 
of  which  they  are  composed.  Until  this  is  done  they  are  not 
thoroughly  learned.  This  analysis  should  be  made  clear  both 
to  the  eye  and  ear.  For  example,  the  word  dog  may  be  written 
on  the  board  in  the  usual  form,  and  pronounced  in  the  usual  man¬ 
ner.  Then  it  may  be  written  with  the  letters  separated  thus  : 
dog,  and  the  sound  of  each  letter  may  be  uttered  separately 
and  distinctly.  In  this  way,  or  in  some  other,  if  a  different 
way  is  preferred,  the  work  of  analysis  should  be  carried  on 
until  all  the  letters  are  learned,  and  most  of  the  elementary 
sounds.  The  diacritical  marks  will  very  naturally  be  taught 
and  learned  in  connection  with  this  analysis. 

The  third  step. — Pupils  are  now  prepared,  if  the  work  thus 
4 


50 


A  PRIMER  OF  PEDAGOGY. 


far  has  been  thoroughly  done,  to  begin  the  third  step,  the  syn¬ 
thetic  work.  This  consists  inputting  together  these  parts  and 
elements  to  form  new  words.  The  child  is  now  able  to  learn 
new  words  with  very  little  assistance.  His  progress  from  this 
point  should  be  comparatively  easy  and  rapid.  Analysis  pre¬ 
pares  the  way  for  synthesis.  Real  teaching  usually  involves 
both  processes. 

The  laws  applied  to  lessons  in  language. — Lessons  in  read¬ 
ing  are  lessons  in  language,  and  instruction  in  reading  pre¬ 
pares  the  way  for  more  specific  and  formal  instruction  in 
language.  The  laws  which  ice  are  considering ,  require  such 
instruction  to  begin  with  the  sentence ,  which  is  the  natural 
unit  of  language.  Begin  (1)  by  teaching  children  to  express 
their  ideas  about  common  and  familiar  objects  in  correct  oral 
sentences.  Give  much  practice  in  this,  guiding  them  by  ques¬ 
tions  and  suggestions,  to  form  all  the  various  kinds  of  simple 
sentences.  If  mistakes  are  made,  lead  them,  as  far  as  possible, 
to  make  corrections  for  themselves. 

Give  practice. — (2)  As  soon  as  children  are  able  to  write  with 
some  facility,  give  them  abundant  practice  in  writing  senten¬ 
ces  of  all  kinds.  Interest  in  this  work  will  be  increased  by 
having  the  sentences  united  to  form  connected  descriptions  and 
short  stories.  Simple  stories  may  be  read  or  told  by  the  teacher 
or  by  some  of  the  pupils,  and  the  children  may  reproduce  these, 
sometimes  orally,  sometimes  in  writing.  This  kind  of  language 
work,  with  natural  variations  and  additions,  should  be  con¬ 
tinued  through  all  the  primary  grades.  Sentences  of  all  forms 
and  varieties  are  thus  learned  as  wholes. 


A  PRIMER  OF  PEDAGOGY. 


51 


Analysis.— (3)  After  a  good  degree  of  facility  in  construct¬ 
ing  sentences  has  been  acquired,  the  work  of  analysis  should 
be  commenced.  First  the  main  parts  of  sentences,  the  subject 
and  the  predicate,  should  be  learned  ;_then,  one  after  another, 
the  various  modifiers  ;  and  finally  all  the  parts  of  speech  with 
their  variations  of  form  and  use.  This  part  of  the  work  should 
not  be  hastened,  and  everything  should  be  made  as  clear  as 
possible. 

Synthesis.— (4)  The  synthetic  work ,  which  consists  in  put¬ 
ting  together  the  elements  of  sentences  to  form  new  sentences , 
should  be  commenced  in  connection  with  the  analysis ,  or  as 
soon  as  the  elements  and  parts  are  well  understood.  Exer¬ 
cises  in  forming  sentences  containing  particular  nouns,  verbs, 
adjectives,  adverbs,  prepositions,  and  so  on,  will  be  profitable 
and  interesting.  As  pupils  advance  in  their  work  the  synthetic 
piocesses  will  include  the  writing  of  stories,  essays,  and  descrip¬ 
tions  of  various  kinds. 

The  productive  work. — It  should  be  observed  that  here,  as 
in  all  studies,  the  analytic  work  is,  in  reality ,  only  prepara¬ 
tory  to  the  synthetic .  The  latter  is  the  productive  work.  Too 
much  time  and  labor  are  frequently  spent  upon  analysis,  and 
too  little  upon  the  constructive  processes.  The  ability  to  take 
things  to  pieces  is  of  less  value  than  the  skill  which  helps  one 
to  put  them  together,  or  to  make  similar  new  things. 

Lack  of  space  prevents  the  application  of  these  general  laws 
bo  methods  of  teaching  other  branches  of  study,  but  the  intel¬ 
ligent  teacher  can  easily  apply  them  for  himself. 


52 


A  PRIMER  OF  PEDAGOGY. 


III.  Third  law  of  mind. 

The  mind  retains  and  repro¬ 
duces  what  it  has  learned  by 
natural  principles  or  laws  of 
association.  The  effectiveness 
of  these  laws  is  increased  by 
certain  conditions  of  mind  and 
body. 


III.  Third  laic  of  teaching . 

The  teacher,  in  arranging  les¬ 
sons  and  in  giving  instruction, 
should  have  constant  reference 
to  the  natural  laws  of  associa¬ 
tion,  and  should  endeavor  to 
produce  in  his  pupils  proper 
conditions  of  mind  and  body. 


Laws  of  association. — The  most  important  of  these  laws 
and  conditions  have  been  mentioned  in  treating  of  the  mental 
activities  under  memory.  They  are  similarity ,  contrast,  and  : 
contiguity.  The  law  of  contiguity  embraces  a  large  numbei  i 
of  relations  such  as  the  sign  and  thing  signified ;  cause  and 
effect ;  subject  and  attribute  ;  whole  and  parts,  and  many  i 
others. 


What  this  law  covers. — This  third  law  covers  the  whole 
subject  of  the  development  and  cultivation  of  the  memory,  a 
subject  of  the  highest  importance  both  to  scholars  and  teach¬ 
ers.  Knowledge  is  of  little  practical  value  unless  it  can  be 
recalled  when  wanted.  It  is  the  teacher’s  business  to  see  thal 
lessons  are  so  assigned  and  so  learned  that  the  matter  of  then: 
can  be  reproduced.  The  undue  prominence  given  to  memory 
by  some  old  methods  of  teaching  has  created  a  disposition,  ir 
some  quarters,  to  undervalue  its  proper  cultivation. 


Upon  what  memory  depends. — The  power  to  retain  and 
recall  our  acquisitions  depends  upon  (1)  the  depth,  vividness 
and  distinctness  of  the  impression  made  upon  the  mind .  anc 
(2)  upon  the  formation  of  proper  associations  or  connection # 
between  the  new  knowledge  and  something  previously  learned 


A  PRIMER  OF  PEDAGOGY. 


53 


or,  when  this  is  not  possible,  between  different  things  learned 
at  the  same  time.  It  is  better  to  make  the  association  between 
the  new  and  the  old,  and  usually  this  can  be  done. 

Upon  what  the  impression  depends. — The  character  of  the 
impression  made  upon  the  mind  depends  primarily  and  chiefly 
upon  (1)  the  sort  of  attention  given  in  the  learning ,  and  sec¬ 
ondarily  (2)  upon  repetition.  Intense  and  absorbing  attention 
produces  an  effect  upon  the  mind  which  may  be  compared  to 
that  produced  upon  some  yielding  substance  by  a  single  heavy 
and  vigorous  stroke  of  a  sharp-pointed  hammer.  One  blow  is 
sufficient  to  secure  the  necessary  impression.  The  effect  of 
repetition  is  like  that  produced  by  a  great  number  of  light 
strokes.  Each  blow  increases  the  depth  a  little.  Many  strokes 
are  necessary  to  produce  the  desired  impression.  A  single  act 
of  intense  attention  may  be  sufficient  for  older  students,  but 
young  children  must  have  an  abundance  of  repetitions . 

Suggestions  as  to  attention. — Since  securing  and  com¬ 
manding  attention  is  one  of  the  most  effective  means  of  culti¬ 
vating  and  improving  the  memory,  a  few  suggestions  in 
relation  to  attention  will  be  in  place  at  this  point. 

1.  The  teacher  should  keep  in  mind  the  fact  that  the  atten¬ 
tion  of  young  children  is,  to  a  very  large  extent,  non-voluntary; 
that  is,  the  attention  is  not  directly  under  the  control  of  the 
will.  Inattention  on  their  part  is  not  evidence  of  great  per¬ 
versity  of  disposition  or  character. 

2.  While  the  attention  of  children  may  be  arrested  and 
directed  for  a  short  time  by  commands  and  requests,  it  cannot 
be  held  by  such  means.  Appropriate  allurements  and  entice¬ 
ments  must  be  employed.  Objects  of  study  must  be  made  as 
attractive  as  possible ;  curiosity  must  be  excited,  and  the  love 
of  variety  must  be  gratified. 


54 


A  PRIMER  OF  PEDAGOGY. 


3.  Attention  follows  interest.  If  the  teacher  is  alive  and 
thoroughly  interested,  full  of  enthusiasm,  these  feelings  will 
be  communicated  to  the  children  by  the  natural  power  of  sym¬ 
pathy.  The  teacher’s  interest  will  usually  create  interest  in 
pupils. 

4.  Make •  only  reasonable  demands  upon  the  attention  of 
young  children.  All  lessons  and  exercises  should  be  short , 
with  frequent  intervals  of  relaxation  and  ivith  much  physical 
exercise. 

5.  In  dealing  with  advanced  pupils  treat  them  as  if  you 
expected  attention  from  them.  Assume  that  they  are  ready 
and  willing  to  give  it.  Teachers,  like  other  people,  usually  find 
what  they  look  for  and  anticipate. 

6.  Conduct  recitations  so  as  to  make  constant  attention  nec¬ 
essary  on  the  part  of  every  scholar.  Questions  should  generally 
be  put  to  the  class  as  a  whole,  and  then  individuals  should  be 
called  upon  to  answer  them.  At  any  point  in  the  recitation 
call  for  statements  previously  made,  or  for  a  summary  of  the 
work  already  done.  Speak  distinctly,  but  in  a  natural  and 
ordinary  tone  of  voice,  and  do  not  fall  into  the  habit  of  repeat¬ 
ing  questions  and  statements  over  and  over.  Let  it  be  under¬ 
stood  that  questions  are  to  be  stated  but  once. 

The  second  point. — The  second  matter  to  be  considered  in 
the  training  of  memory  is  the  formation  of  proper  and  effect¬ 
ive  connections  or  associations,  the  uniting  of  new  knowledge 
to  what  has  been  already  fixed  in  mind,  and  the  uniting  of  the 
various  parts  of  the  new  matter  so  that  any  one  part  will  be 
sure  to  suggest  all  the  rest. 

How  the  union  is  effected. — This  union  of  the  different 

parts  will  be  effected  by  arranging  and  presenting  them  in 


A  PRIMER  OF  PEDAGOGY. 


55 


some  natural  order  under  the  law  of  contiguity  so  that  the 
first  suggests  the  second,  the  second  the  third,  and  so  on.  In 
many  cases  the  laws  of  similarity  and  contrast  will  determine 
the  order.  In  such  case  one  law  reinforces  another  and  the 
union  is  rendered  still  stronger.  Suppose,  for  example,  one 
wishes  to  fix  in  memory  the  names  of  ten  persons  or  places 
which  have  no  apparent  relation  to  each  other.  Any  one  of 
several  methods  of  arrangement  may  be  adopted.  They  may 
be  arranged  alphabetically,  that  is  so  that  the  initial  letters 
follow  each  other  in  alphabetical  order.  This  is  a  good 
arrangement  if  nothing  more  is  desired  than  to  retain  the 
names.  Here  we  follow  an  order  which  repetition  alone  has 
made  familiar. 

End  in  view  to  be  regarded. — If  the  names  are  names  of 
cities,  and  the  desire  should  be  not  only  to  fix  the  names  but 
also  to  indicate,  at  the  same  time,  their  relative  size,  the  words 
should  be  arranged  in  the  order  of  population,  the  name  of 
the  most  populous  being  placed  first.  If  the  words  are  names 
of  men,  they  may  be  arranged  in  the  order  of  age,  or  in  the 
order  of  notoriety.  The  particular  order  adopted  in  any 
given  case  must  he  determined  by  the  end  in  view. 

Laws  in  arithmetic. — In  teaching  primary  arithmetic  the 
laws  of  similarity  and  contrast  are  especially  useful,  and 
should  be  kept  constantly  in  mind  by  the  teacher.  Similarity 
is  noticed  in  the  increase  in  value  of  figures  from  right  to 
left,  in  the  separation  of  figures  with  periods,  in  the  repetition 
of  figures  in  writing  numbers  above  ten,  and  in  many  other 
points.  The  similarity  of  multiplication  and  addition  will 
suggest  that  they  be  taught  in  connection. 


56 


A  PRIMER  OF  PEDAGOGY. 


The  law  of  contrast  will  cause  subtraction  to  be  taught  in 
connection  with  addition,  and  division  with  multiplication. 
Similarity  will  unite  subtraction  and  division.  The  third  gen¬ 
eral  law  of  mind  and  of  teaching  seems  to  require  that  the 
four  so-called  fundamental  operations  in  arithmetic  be  taught 
and  learned  simultaneously. 

Elementary  reading. — In  teaching  elementary  reading  the 
first  law  of  association  employed  is  that  which  binds  together 
the  sign,  that  is  the  name,  with  the  things  signified,  the  object, 
act,  and  so  forth.  The  end  sought  in  teaching ,  at  this  time , 
is  to  make  this  association  so  firm  that  the  thing  will  instantly 
suggest  the  sign ,  or  the  sign  the  thing ,  and  also  to  associate 
the  oral  sign  or  word  with  the  written  one  so  thoroughly  that 
either  will  immediately  suggest  the  other.  The  child  is  not 
prepared  to  use  a  book  profitably  until  this  has  been  accom¬ 
plished. 

The  law  of  similarity  also  does  valuable  service  in  the  early 
stages  of  this  work,  as  it  does  in  the  more  advanced  stages. 
If  the  form  and  sound  of  the  letters  at  have  been  learned  in 
the  word  cat,  they  should  be  recognized  at  once  in  the  new 
words  presented,  such  as  hat ,  sat ,  rat,  mat .  If  the  sentence 
I  have  a  book,  has  been  taught,  then  the  similarity  of  such 
sentences  as :  You  have  a  book,  We  have  a  book,  and  so  on, 
will  make  the  work  of  learning  very  easy.  Examples  might 
be  multiplied,  but  these  are  sufficient  to  show  in  what  direc¬ 
tion  the  teacher’s  duty  lies.  This  law  of  similarity  is  of  con¬ 
stant  service  in  all  language  work  from  the  lowest  to  the 
highest  grades,  and  should  be  observed  in  the  preparation  and 
arrangement  of  all  lessons. 


A  PRIMER  OF  PEDAGOGY. 


57 


In  geography. — In  geography  things  are  grouped  together, 
to  a  large  extent,  under  the  laws  of  similarity  and  contrast ; 
but  the  law  of  contiguity  is  of  especial  service.  Rivers  are 
learned  and  associated  readily  by  following  coast  lines.  Towns 
and  cities  are  associated  in  the  same  way,  or  by  following 
lines  of  railroads.  Persons,  places,  and  events  are  associated 
together ;  industries  are  associated  with  the  places  where  they 
are  carried  on  ;  agricultural  and  other  products  with  the  locali¬ 
ties  which  produce  them. 

In  history.— The  associations  employed  in  teaching  history 
are  made  by  the  laws  used  in  geography.  In  more  advanced 
historical  work  the  law  of  cause  and  effect  is  of  much  service  ; 
events  are  traced  backward  to  their  causes,  or  onward  to  their 
consequences ;  the  characters  of  men  are  associated  with  the 
conditions  which  fashioned  them,  and  with  their  influence 
upon  the  age  in  which  they  lived  and  upon  subsequent  ages. 

Other  branches  of  study. — Without  particular  reference  to 
other  branches  of  study,  these  illustrations  are  sufficient  to 
indicate  how  memory  is  to  be  cultivated,  and  what  the  teacher 
should  attempt  to  do  in  all  lessons.  Much  teaching  and  many 
lessons  amount  to  nothing  because  no  proper  use  is  made  of 
the  principles  of  association.  All  valuable  training  of  the 
memory  depends  upon  making  such  arrangement  of  the  mat¬ 
ter  to  be  remembered ,  and  producing  such  conditions  that  the 
mind  can  act  freely  and  vigorously  according  to  its  own 
natural  laws  of  association .  Artificial  systems  for  cultivating 
and  increasing  the  power  of  memory  have  very  little  value. 


58 


A  PRIMER  OF  PEDAGOGY. 


IV.  Fourth  Icnc  of  mind. 

The  mind  can  receive  only  a 
limited  amount  of  matter  at  one 
time,  and  in  order  to  secure  the 
most  vigorous  and  productive 
activity  the  mind  must  have 
some  variety  in  subjects  of 
study  and  periods  of  relaxation 
and  rest. 


IV.  Fourth  law  of  teaching. 

The  teacher  should  present 
only  a  properly  limited  amount 
of  matter  to  the  mind  of  a 
pupil  at  one  time,  and  should 
provide  for  sufficient  variety 
in  subjects  of  study  and  for 
periods  of  relaxation  and  rest. 


No  definite  rules. — No  definite  rules  can  be  given  in  respect 
to  the  length  of  lessons  in  different  branches  of  study.  Only 
general  suggestions  can  be  offered,  but  the  subject  is  impor¬ 
tant  enough  to  demand  careful  consideration.  As  a  rule,  yoimg 
and  inexperienced  teachers  give  longer  lessons  than  older  and 
more  experienced  ones. 

Things  to  be  considered. — Several  things  must  be  taken 
into  account  :  (1)  The  general  ability  and  previous  training 
of  a  class.  Considerable  differences  are  found  in  the  average 
ability  of  different  classes  ;  (2)  the  nature  of  the  study.  Some 
studies  require  more  time  and  thought  than  others ;  (3)  the 
number  of  studies  pursued  by  a  class  at  the  same  time.  A 
class  with  only  two  or  three  studies-  can  take  longer  lessons 
than  one  with  four  or  more  ;  (4)  the  time  given  to  a  recitation. 
A  recitation  occupying  thirty  or  forty  minutes  may  properly 
cover  more  ground  than  one  confined  to  fifteen  or  twenty 
minutes  ;  (5)  the  method  of  teaching.  Some  so-called  teachers 
merely  hear  recitations  ;  others  do  some  actual  teaching.  As 
a  rule  it  requires  more  time  to  teach  than  it  does  simply  to 
listen  while  pupils  repeat  what  they  have  learned.  It  should 
be  understood,  both  by  teachers  and  scholars,  that  the  number 


A  PRIMER  OF  PEDAGOGY. 


59 


of  pages  of  a  text-book  “  gone  over”  is  no  certain  criterion  of 
the  actual  progress  made  by  a  class.  A  small  amount  of  mat¬ 
ter  thoroughly  mastered  is  worth  more  than  twice  the  amount 
“skimmed  over”  and  not  half  learned.  Generally  only  one 
or  two  really  important  points  should  be  included  in  a  single 
lesson  for  young  children.  The  concentration  of  attention , 
thought ,  and  effort  upon  one  thing  at  one  time  is  the  prime 
condition  of  fruitful  study. 

Assignment  of  lessons. — Lessons  should  be  assigned  with 
great  care,  especially  to  young  children.  It  is  not  sufficient  to 
say,  take  so  many  pages  or  so  many  paragraphs.  The  precise 
things  to  be  learned  should  be  pointed  out,  and  all  matters  of 
special  importance  should  be  indicated.  Children  often  waste 
much  time  in  fruitless  effort  because  they  are  not  properly 
directed.  It  is  safe  to  say  that  no  teacher  can  assign  a  lesson 
wisely  unless  he  has  himself  thoroughly  and  freshly  prepared 
it. 

Rest  and  change  important. — The  importance  of  relaxation 
and  rest  of  mind  can  hardly  be  overestimated.  The  efficiency 
and  productiveness  of  any  form  of  mental  activity  depend 
very  largely,  indeed  almost  entirely,  upon  the  freshness  and 
vigor  of  the  mind.  Scholars  sometimes  estimate  their  merits 
as  students  by  the  number  of  times  a  lesson  has  been  studied 
over,  or  by  the  number  of  hours  occupied  in  so-called  study¬ 
ing.  One  might  as  well  estimate  his  merits  as  a  traveler  by 
the  number  of  hours  spent  on  the  road.  The  prime  factor 
both  in  study  and  travel  is  the  rate  of  speed;  and  the  rate 
must,  in  most  cases,  depend  upon  the  freshness  of  the  student 
or  the  traveler.  The  aim  of  every  student  should  be  to  acquire 
the  power  to  do  a  certain  amount  of  mental  labor  in  the  short - 


60 


A  PRIMER  OF  PEDAGOGY. 


est  time  in  which  it  can  be  well  done.  The  aim  of  the  teacher 
should  be  to  help  the  pupil  in  the  acquisition  of  this  power. 
He  will  do  this  most  effectively  by  teaching  him  how  to  work, 
how  to  study,  and  how  to  secure  relaxation  and  rest.  We  are 
here  considering  the  resting. 

Sleep. — (1)  Perfect  rest,  either  of  body  or  mind,  is  found 
only  in  natural  and  profound  sleep.  Such  sleep  usually  appears 
to  be  dreamless.  So-called  sleep,  induced  by  drugs  or  other 
artificial  means,  lacks  the  curative  and  restorative  power  of 
natural  sleep.  It  is  now  generally  admitted  that  “  brain¬ 
workers  ”  need  as  much  sleep  as  men  engaged  in  hard  manual 
labor.  The  average  required,  according  to  the  best  authori¬ 
ties,  is  about  eight  hours  out  of  the  twenty-four.  A  temporary 
gain  may  seem  to  be  secured  by  reducing  the  hours  of  sleep, 
but  the  result,  in  the  end,  is  usually  a  real  loss. 

Physical  exercises. — (2)  Next  to  sleep,  appropriate  forms  of 
physical  exercise  afford  the  best  mental  relaxation.  Such 
exercises  must  be  adapted  to  the  age,  to  the  condition  of  the 
body,  to  the  previous  habits  of  the  individual,  and  to  sur¬ 
rounding  circumstances.  The  important  consideration  is  that 
the  form  of  exercise  shall  occupy  the  atten  tion  without  severely 
taxing  the  mental  powers. 

In  school. — In  the  primary  school  lessons  and  physical  exer¬ 
cise  of  some  appropriate  kind  should  alternate.  Lessons  should 
be  short,  full  of  energy  and  life,  and  so  conducted  as  to  com¬ 
mand  and  absorb  every  thought  and  energy  of  the  children. 
Equally  absorbing  periods  of  physical  exercise  should  follow. 
In  more  advanced  grades  light  gymnastics,  calisthenics,  and 
other  forms  of  exercise  should  be  introduced  as  much  as  cir¬ 
cumstances  will  permit. 


A  PRIMER  OF  PEDAGOGY. 


61 


Alternation  of  studies. — (3)  In  all  grades,  but  especially 
in  the  high  school,  mental  relaxation  and  relief  must  be 
obtained  by  suitable  alternation  of  studies.  Provision  must  be 
made  for  such  alternation  in  the  program  of  recitations  and 
other  exercises.  Opportunity  should  be  given,  as  far  as  pos¬ 
sible,  for  the  exercise  in  turn  of  the  three  typical  modes  of 
mental  activity,  the  perceptive,  the  representative,  and  the 
thinking. 

Mathematics. — Mathematical  studies,  after  the  elementary 
stage  is  passed,  call  into  exercise  particularly  the  thinking 
process  of  comparing,  judging,  and  reasoning,  together  with 
some  forms  of  representation.  They  appeal  very  little  to  sense- 
perception. 

Sciences. — The  natural  and  physical  sciences,  such  as  botany 
and  physics,  when  taught  by  modern  methods,  excite  the 
activity  of  perception  to  a  high  degree,  and  do  not  tax  the 
other  powers  severely,  although  the  processes  of  classification 
are  constantly  carried  on. 

Geography  and  history. — Geography  and  history  appeal 
primarily  to  the  representative  powers,  simple  conception, 
imagination  and  memory.  When  taught,  in  advanced  classes, 
with  reference  to  causes,  consequences,  and  the  broad  general¬ 
izations,  they  exercise  the  thinking  powers  very  fully.  Per¬ 
ception  is  not  much  exercised. 

Reading  and  language. — Reading,  language  and  literature 
exercise  in  a  marked  degree  conception,  imagination,  judg¬ 
ment,  and  taste,  which  is  a  form  of  judgment  with  an  inter¬ 
mingling  of  emotion  and  other  feelings. 

Order  of  recitation. — Keeping  in  view  the  mental  activities 
exercised  by  the  different  branches  of  study,  it  will  be  easy  to 


62 


A  PKIMER  OF  PEDAGOGY. 


provide  for  the  necessary  alternations  of  psychical  action. 
The  order  in  a  program  may  be  greatly  varied.  It  may  be 
reading,  arithmetic,  grammar ;  or  mathematics,  science,  lan¬ 
guage,  as  geometry,  zoology  or  botany,  Latin  or  literature,  or 
any  one  of  several  other  possible  arrangements.  As  a  rule, 
studies  which  demand  vigorous  and  protracted  thinking,  and 
very  close  and  accurate  analysis,  should  be  placed  in  the  early 
part  of  the  day  ;  and  those  lessons  which  require  only  a  moder¬ 
ate  degree  of  mental  exertion  and  allow  considerable  exercise 
of  body,  should  be  placed  near  the  close  of  the  day.  Yet  the 
difficult  and  the  easy,  the  heavy  and  the  light  should  be  inter¬ 
spersed,  to  some  extent,  throughout  the  entire  program. 

SUMMARY  OF  CHAPTER  IV. 

1.  Method  defined,  methods  in  teaching. 

2.  What  determines  methods.  Illustration. 

3. '  What  the  true  teacher  does. 

4.  General  forms  of  mental  activity. 

5.  Special  forms  of  mental  activity. 

6.  General  laws  of  mind  and  of  teaching. 

7.  First  law  of  mind  ;  first  law  of  teaching. 

8.  Second  law  of  mind  ;  second  law  of  teaching. 

9.  What  analysis  is  ;  what  synthesis  is. 

10.  How  the  senses  present  knowledge  to  the  mind. 

11.  Examples  of  the  action  of  the  senses. 

12.  How  the  young  child  gets  knowledge  at  home. 

13.  Hamilton's  statements  ;  caution. 

14.  Illustrations  of  the  application  of  these  laws  to  teaching 
reading,  language,  etc. 

15.  Meaning  of  the  maxim:  “ Proceed  from  the  known  to 
the  unknown.” 


A  PRIMER  OF  PEDAGOGY. 


63 

16.  Steps  in  teaching  primary  reading. 

17.  Steps  in  teaching  language. 

18.  What  the  productive  work  is. 

19.  Third  law  of  mind  ;  third  law  of  teaching. 

20.  Laws  of  association.  What  the  third  law  covers. 

21.  Upon  what  the  power  of  memory  depends. 

22.  Upon  what  depth  of  impression  depends. 

23.  Suggestions  as  to  attention. 

24.  How  associations  of  objects  and  ideas  are  formed. 

25.  Laws  of  association  used  in  primary  arithmetic  ;  in  read¬ 
ing  and  language  ;  in  geography  and  history. 

26.  Fourth  law  of  mind  ;  fourth  law  of  teaching. 

27.  As  to  rules  for  length  of  lessons.  Points  to  be  con¬ 
sidered. 

28.  Assignment  of  lessons. 

29.  Importance  of  mental  rest  and  relaxation. 

30.  Sleep  ;  physical  exercises  ;  alternation  of  studies. 

31.  Mental  activities  exercised  in  the  study  of  mathematics  ; 
of  sciences ;  of  geography  and  history ;  of  reading  and  language. 

32.  Suggested  order  of  studies  in  a  program. 


CHAPTER  Y. 

INSTRUCTION,  OR  TEACHING  AND  TRAINING. 

CONTINUED. 

Special  laws  of  mind  and  of  teaching — As  previously 
indicated,  each  period  of  life  has  some  forms  of  mental 
activity  peculiar  to  itself.  These  different  forms  appear 
at  all  periods,  indeed,  but  do  not  exhibit  the  same  rela- 


64 


A  PRIMER  OF  PEDAGOGY. 


tive  degree  of  prominence  and  vigor.  Statements  of  these 
forms  of  activity  give  us  what  may  be  called  subordinate  or 
special  laws  of  mind ;  and  inf erences  from  these  laws  of  mind 
afford  subordinate  or  special  laws  of  teaching.  These  special 
laws  of  teaching  include  the  substance  of  many  of  the  so-called 
“  educational  maxims,”  some  of  which  are  found  as  far  back 
as  the  time  of  Comenius.  Harm  has  been  done,  in  some  cases, 
by  efforts  to  elevate  these  subordinate  laws  or  maxims  to  the 
rank  and  position  of  universal  or  general  truths. 

Correlated  laws. — As  a  matter  of  convenience,  and  also  as 
an  aid  to  the  memory,  several  of  these  laws,  both  of  mind  and 
of  teaching,  are  here  presented  in  two  correlated  parts,  one 
part  referring  to  an  earlier  the  other  to  a  later  period  of  men¬ 
tal  development. 


SPECIAL  LAWS  OF  MIND. 

1.  (a)  In  his  early  learning 
the  child  must  begin  with  the 
concrete,  that  is,  with  objects, 
acts  and  qualities  ;  these  cause 
the  production  of  ideas  ;  words 
are  then  needed  as  signs,  to 
name  and  describe  the  objects 
and  ideas.  The  order  is  (1) 
objects,  (2)  ideas,  (3)  words. 

(i b )  Later,  when  words  and 
the  things  which  they  signify 
have  become  thoroughly  asso¬ 
ciated,  the  learner  begins,  in 
many  cases,  with  words,  as  the 
signs  of  things.  These  cause 
the  production  in  the  mind  of 


SPECIAL  LAWS  OF  TEACHING. 

1.  (a)  In  teaching  young 
children  the  teacher  should 
begin  with  the  concrete,  that 
is,  with  objects,  acts  and  quali¬ 
ties  ;  should  excite  curiosity 
and  help  the  production  of 
ideas  ;  should  then  teach  words, 
as  signs,  to  name  and  describe 
the  objects  and  ideas. 

(b)  In  later  periods,  when 
words  and  the  things  which 
they  signify  have  become  asso¬ 
ciated,  the  teacher  should  be¬ 
gin,  in  many  cases,  with 
words,  and  through  these  se¬ 
cure  the  formation  of  correct 


A  PRIMER  OF  PEDAGOGY. 


65 


images,  pictures,  or  ideas  of 
whatever  the  words  signify. 
The  state  of  mind  is  naturally 
followed  by  the  proper  expres¬ 
sion  and  description  of  these 
images  and  ideas. 


mental  images,  pictures,  or 
ideas  of  whatever  the  words 
signify,  and  then  guide  the 
pupil  in  the  proper  expression 
or  description  of  these  images 
and  ideas. 


The  first  part  of  these  laws  refers  to  the  strict  elementary 
period  of  the  child’s  school  life.  To  this  period  such  maxims 
as  the  following  apply :  From  the  concrete  to  the  abstract. 
Things  before  words.  The  second  maxim  should  be  amended 
to  read.  Things  and  words.  One  leading  purpose  of  the 
teacher ,  at  this  stage ,  is  to  render  the  association  between 
objects ,  ideas  and  words  so  perfect  that  either  will  enable 
the  child  to  recall  the  others  instantly.  The  child  is  learning 
mainly  through  his  senses,  and  the  teaching  must  be  directed 
accordingly. 

Object  teaching. — Object  teaching  belongs  here,  and  also 
objective  teaching.  The  two  should  be  carefully  distinguished. 
The  first  is  teaching  objects  themselves,  their  means,  their 
parts,  of  what  they  are  composed,  their  uses,  and  whatever 
may  be  of  interest  or  value  concerning  them. 

Objective  teaching. — Objective  teaching,  on  the  other  hand, 
makes  use  of  objects  merely  as  convenient  means  of  reaching 
some  desired  end,  as  when  numbers  are  taught  by  the  use  of 
sticks,  crayons,  pebbles  or  any  other  things  which  can  be 
handled  and  counted,  or  geography  is  taught  by  the  use  of 
sand  or  clay.  Objective  teaching  may  be  profitably  employed 
in  all  branches  of  study  in  the  primary  grades,  and  in  some 
branches  in  the  higher  grades. 

Use  of  object  lessons. — Object  lessons,  properly  conducted, 
5 


66 


A  PRIMER  OF  PEDAGOGY. 


are  especially  valuable  for  developing  and  training  the  activity 
of  the  senses ,  and  for  creating  the  habit  of  observing.  No 
power  of  the  mind  is  developed  and  trained  except  by  fitting 
exercise.  In  order  to  secure  such  exercise  means  and  oppor¬ 
tunities  must  be  supplied.  The  senses  can  he  trained  only  by 
giving  them  something  to  do.  The  eye  learns  to  see  by  seeing  : 
the  ear  by  hearing ;  and  the  other  senses  become  skillful  in 
their  peculiar  work  by  doing  it.  The  same  law  holds  true  in 
all  manual  training.  But  proper  instruction  and  direction 
are  necessary  in  all  cases.  Both  the  senses  and  the  hands  need 
to  be  guided.  It  is  the  teacher’s  business  to  give  the  proper 
instruction,  direction,  and  guidance.  So  much  being  granted, 
the  maxim  of  Comenius  is  true  :  “Let  things  that  have  to  be 
done  be  learned  by  doing  them” 

Bad  object  lessons. — Object  lessons  may  be  so  conducted  as 
to  be  worse  than  useless.  This  is  the  case  when  children  are 
required  to  learn  and  repeat,  in  a  mechanical  way,  long  lists 
of  names  of  parts,  qualities,  characteristics,  and  uses  of 
objects,  all  of  which  they  know  before  entering  school.  So 
far  from  cultivating  and  quickening  the  activity  of  the 
senses,  this  method  of  teaching  really  tends  to  produce 
“  artificial  stupidity,”  the  senses  are  dulled  by  it. 

Children  must  use  their  own  senses — Children  must  be  i 
allowed  to  see,  hear,  taste,  smell,  and  touch  for  themselves, 
and  not  be  taught  simply  to  repeat  what  the  teacher  sees  and 
hears.  But  they  should  be  so  directed  that  they  will  learn  to  I 
observe  with  order ,  regularity ,  accuracy ,  and  finally  with 
rapidity.  Beginning  with  objects  of  which  the  children  have 
.some  general  but  very  indefinite  knowledge,  the  genuine 
teacher  will  lead  her  pupils  to  discover  for  themselves  parts, 


A  PRIMER  OF  PEDAGOGY. 


67 


qualities,  characteristics,  and  other  peculiarities  which  have 
hitherto  entirely  escaped  their  hasty  and  careless  notice.  An 
old  object  is  thus  transformed  into  a  new  one,  and  invested 
with  a  species  of  enchantment.  The  common-place  world,  in 
which  the  children  have  been  living,  is  suddenly  changed  into 
a  world  of  wonders,  marvels,  and  charms  at  the  skillful  touch 
of  an  inspiring  teacher.  The  value  of  this  work  does  not  con¬ 
sist  in  the  little  knowledge  gained  by  the  pupils,  but  in  the 
acquired  power  of  perceiving  and  in  the  acquired  lidbit  of 
accurate  and  rapid  observation. 

Final  result. — The  final  result  is  that  the  child  comes  to 
observe  almost  or  quite  unconsciously  ;  he  sees  and  hears  with¬ 
out  effort,  and  thus  acquires  a  vast  amount  of  useful  and 
interesting  knowledge  with  no  expenditure  of  time  or  labor, 
and  with  positive  and  constantly  increasing  pleasure.  This  is 
the  development  and  training  of  the  perceptive  powers ;  the 
opening  of  the  gate-ways  of  the  soul ;  the  bringing  of  the  mind 
and  of  the  material  of  knowledge  face  to  face,  which  consti¬ 
tutes,  as  previously  stated,  real  teaching.  This  is  Mr.  Page’s 
“  waking  up  the  mind.” 

Some  questions  on  observation. — How  many  young  people, 
even  teachers,  who  have  lived  all  their  lives  in  the  country, 
surrounded  with  trees,  fruits,  and  flowers,  can  draw  or  describe 
the  forms  of  the  leaves  of  the  different  kinds  of  trees  ?  can  tell 
the  names  of  the  common  flowers  by  the  roadside?  or  how 
many  petals  the  apple  or  pear  blossom  has  ?  or  what  the  uses 
of  the  corn  tassels  are?  or  how  new  varieties  of  potatoes  are 
produced  ? 

Examples  of  concrete  lessons. — Concrete  teaching  may  be 
extended  with  great  profit  and  interest  far  beyond  the  use  of 


68 


A  PRIMER  OF  PEDAGOGY. 


simple  objects  in  giving  the  first  lessons  in  numbers.  Older 
children  are  fond  of  concrete  examples  in  arithmetic.  A  class 
may  be  set  to  measuring  the  floor  of  the  schoolroom  and  to 
determining  the  number  of  square  feet  in  it;  the  same  may 
be  done  in  respect  to  the  sides  and  ceiling  of  the  room.  The 
number  of  cubic  feet  contained  in  the  room  may  be  calculated, 
and  the  number  of  cubic  feet  for  each  scholar.  These  and 
similar  problems  have  an  interest  for  pupils  which  mere 
abstract  questions  do  not  possess. 

More  examples. — At  different  seasons  of  the  year  questions 
relating  to  familiar  matters  may  be  suggested.  For  example, 
pupils  a  little  advanced  in  arithmetic  may  be  asked  to  deter¬ 
mine  the  number  of  stalks  of  wheat  on  an  acre  of  ground, 
being  instructed  to  count  the  stalks  on  a  few  square  feet  in 
different  parts  of  the  field  so  as  to  ascertain  the  average 
number  on  one  square  foot.  In  the  same  way  the  number  of 
hills  of  corn  on  an  acre  may  be  calculated,  or  the  number  of 
forest  trees  on  a  certain  number  of  acres.  Such  examples 
may  be  multiplied  almost  indefinitely  in  a  farming  district.  In 
a  lumber  region  a  different  class  of  examples  would  naturally 
be  devised,  and  in  a  mining  section  still  a  different  sort,  and 
so  on,  the  particular  examples  being  varied  according  to  con¬ 
ditions  and  surroundings. 

Spelling  lessons. — Lessons  in  spelling  may  frequently  be 
made  from  objects,  by  taking  the  name  of  an  object,  the 
names  of  the  parts,  words  denoting  the  uses  of  the  object,  and 
other  words  suggested  by  the  object  or  associated  with  it. 
Such  lessons  may  be  made  lessons  in  language  as  well  as  in 
spelling. 


A  PKIMER  OE  PEDAGOGY. 


69 


Second  part  of  these  laws. — The  second  part  of  these  laws 
refers  to  the  work  of  the  secondary  stage  of  learning  and 
teaching.  However,  it  must  always  be  kept  in  mind  that 
the  transition  of  the  child  from  one  period  to  the  next  is 
very  gradual.  Consequently  the  method  of  teaching  must  be 
changed  very  gradually.  Little  by  little  the  object  and  object¬ 
ive  methods  must  give  place  to  methods  which  address  the 
conceptive  or  representative  power  more  directly.  Pupils  are 
now  prepared  to  use  books ;  and  the  order  of  progress  is  (1) 
words,  (2)  ideas,  and  (3)  expression,  while  in  the  first  period  the 
order  was  (1)  objects,  (2)  ideas,  and  (3)  words. 

The  order  in  reading. — The  order  is  illustrated  by  the  les¬ 
sons  in  reading  after  children  begin  the  use  of  the  second 
reader.  The  printed  words,  as  the  pupils  look  upon  the  page, 
cause  the  production  in  the  mind  of  images,  pictures,  ideas, 
representations  of  the  objects,  acts,  persons,  and  so  forth,  of 
which  the  words  are  signs  or  symbols.  These  mental  ideas, 
images,  and  pictures  are  expressed  or  described  in  the  vocal 
reading  by  the  tones,  inflections,  and  emphasis  employed  by 
the  readers.  The  character  of  the  reading  will  show  whether 
the  representations  in  the  mind  are  correct  and  distinct.  A 
book  cannot  be  used  with  advantage  until  such  representations 
can  be  readily  and  accurately  formed. 

Order  in  language  lessons. — This  order  is  also  observed  in 
language  lessons  when  the  teacher  reads  or  relates  some  story 
and  requires  the  members  of  a  class  to  reproduce  the  substance 
of  it  in  writing.  In  this  case  the  spoken  words  cause  the  for¬ 
mation  of  the  mental  representations  which  are  then  expressed 
by  written  words. 


70 


A  PRIMER  OF  PEDAGOGY. 


Different  modes  of  expression. — The  expression  is  not  always 

by  words.  It  may  be  by  acts  or  by  signs  of  various  kinds. 
For  example,  the  teacher  says  to  a  child,  “Please  bring  me 
your  reading  book;”  the  child  does  as  requested.  The  act  is  an 
expression  of  the  ideas  produced  in  the  mind  by  the  teacher’s 
words,  and  could  not  have  been  performed  correctly  if  the  rep¬ 
resentations  had  not  been  correctly  formed. 

In  arithmetic. — An  example  in  arithmetic  is  read;  a  pupil 
goes  to  the  blackboard  and  places  upon  it  a  number  of  figures 
and  other  characters.  This  work  is  an  expression  of  the  ideas 
caused  by  the  reading,  and  the  work  will  indicate  what  sort  of 
ideas  were  formed. 

Representation  begins  early. — This  process  of  mental  repre¬ 
sentation  begins  at  a  very  early  period  of  the  child’s  develop¬ 
ment,  and  the  power  to  form  correct  and  clear  ideas ,  ichen  words 
or  other  signs  are  used,  should  be  cultivated  as  carefully  and 
diligently  as  the  perceptive  powers  when  objects  are  employed. 
It  is  possible  to  use  the  object  and  objective  methods  of 
instruction  too  long.  The  child  in  that  case  becomes  accus¬ 
tomed  to  depend  too  much  upon  perception  for  his  mental 
notions.  The  power  to  form  mental  pictures  from  words  is 
not  called  into  activity,  and  consequently  is  not  developed. 
The  result  is  that  memory,  conception,  and  imagination  are 
retarded  in  their  growth,  and  sometimes  permanent  injury  is 
inflicted  upon  the  mind. 


II. 

a.  The  young  child  proceeds 
in  its  learning,  for  the  most 
part,  inductively;  that  is,  from 
individuals  to  classes,  and 


II. 

a.  The  teacher  of  young 
children  should  proceed,  for 
the  most  part,  inductively ; 
that  is  from  individuals  to 


A  PRIMER  OF  PEDAGOGY. 


71 


from  particular  cases  and  ex¬ 
amples  to  general  truths  and 
principles. 

b.  In  later  periods  the 
learner  proceeds,  in  many 
cases,  deductively ;  that  is, 
from  classes  to  individuals, 
and  from  general  truths  and 
principles  to  particular  cases 
and  examples. 


classes,  and  from  particular 
cases  and  examples  to  general 
truths  and  principles. 

b.  The  teacher  of  advanced 
classes  should,  in  many  cases, 
proceed  deductively  ;  that  is, 
from  classes  to  individuals, 
and  from  general  truths  and 
principles  to  particular  cases 
and  examples. 


For  the  purpose  of  emphasizing  certain  points  of  special 
importance  a  third  law  is  added,  although  it  is  virtually  in¬ 
cluded  in  the  second,  and  will  be  discussed  in  connection  with 
that  law. 


III. 

a .  The  child  naturally  seeks 
to  learn  facts,  events,  proc¬ 
esses,  examples  and  so  on, 
before  he  is  interested  in  study¬ 
ing  causes,  reasons,  conse¬ 
quences,  rules,  definitions  and 
principles ;  and  he  learns 
language  before  the  laws  of 
language,  that  is,  before  gram¬ 
mar. 

b.  After  the  thinking  and 
reasoning  powers  have  become 
considerably  developed,  the 
student  naturally  seeks  to 
commence  the  study  of  many 
subjects  with  statements  of 
rules,  definitions,  principles, 


III. 

a.  The  teacher  should  pre¬ 
sent  facts,  events,  processes, 
examples,  and  so  on,  to  chil¬ 
dren  before  requiring  them  to 
study  causes,  reasons,  conse¬ 
quences,'  rules,  definitions,  and 
principles  ;  and  should  teach 
languages  before  the  laws  of 
language,  that  is,  before 
grammar. 

b.  In  giving  instruction  to 
advanced  scholars  the  teacher 
may  often  begin  with  state¬ 
ments  of  rules,  definitions, 
principles,  and  hypotheses,  and 
then  proceed  to  investigate, 
explain,  and  illustrate  the 


72 


A  PRIMER  OF  PEDAGOGY. 


and  hypotheses,  and  then  goes 
on  to  investigate  and  discover 
the  application  of  these.  He 
also  commences  the  study  of 
new  languages  by  applying,  as 
far  as  possible,  the  laws  and 
principles  of  languages  already 
learned,  that  is,  with  gram¬ 
mar. 


various  applications  of  these, 
and  the  inferences  and  deduc¬ 
tions  from  them.  He  should 
also  commence  instruction  in 
new  languages  by  applying,  as 
far  as  possible,  the  laws  and 
principles  of  languages  which 
the  student  knows,  that  is, 
with  grammar. 


Applications  of  the  second  and  third  laws.— The  applica¬ 
tions  of  the  second  and  third  laws  to  methods  of  teaching 
particular  subjects  will  be  readily  understood  by  almost  any¬ 
one,  and  they  will  not,  therefore,  require  very  extended  illus¬ 
trations.  The  young  child,  at  first,  knows  only  individuals, 
and  can  have  no  conception  of  classes.  It  is  true  he  uses  gen¬ 
eral  terms,  such  as  boy,  man,  dog,  horse,  but  he  employs 
these,  for  considerable  time,  only  as  names  of  individuals. 
Very  gradually,  but  probably  somewhat  earlier  than  we  have 
been  accustomed  to  suppose,  the  child  begins  to  form  con¬ 
fused  notions  of  classes  of  things,  such  as  are  indicated  by 
common  nouns,  like  fruit,  flower,  animal  and  tree.  He  then 
commences  to  make  generalizations,  often  very  crude,  and 
sometimes  amusing. 

First  idets  of  classes  of  objects. — The  child's  earliest  ideas 
of  classes  of  objects  are  probably  obtained  by  a  process  of 
elimination ;  that  is,  by  putting  aside  or  out  of  view,  one  by 
one,  characteristics  which  belong  to  single  individuals,  and 
by  retaining  and  combining  the  characteristics  which  are 
discovered  to  be  common  to  a  large  number  of  individuals. 
If  this  be  true,  it  indicates  the  method  which  the  teacher 
should  adopt  in  the  school.  For  example,  suppose  a  child 


A  PRIMER  OF  PEDAGOGY. 


73 


sees  an  apple  for  the  first  time,  and  that  this  particular  apple 
is  red.  The  word  apple  now  means  to  the  child  only  this  one 
red  apple.  Suppose  to-morrow  a  yellow  apple  is  brought  to 
the  child,  and  afterwards  a  green  apple,  and  then  others  of 
variegated  colors.  Gradually  the  notion  of  any  particular  color 
is  eliminated  from  the  idea  expressed  by  the  general  term  apple. 
By  a  similar  process  the  notion  of  any  particular  size,  or  of 
any  specific  taste,  will  be  removed,  and  only  a  few  character¬ 
istics  will  remain  included  in  the  idea  or  general  notion  of  an 
apple. 

Induction. — Induction  is  the  process  by  which  we  reach 
general  truths ,  laics,  and  rules  by  examining  a  considerable 
number  of  individual  things ,  cases,  or  examples.  The  mind 
naturally  follows  this  method,  and  the  teacher  should  adopt 
it  in  leading  children  to  discover  and  formulate  rules  in 
arithmetic,  grammar,  and  other  common  studies.  A  rule  in 
arithmetic  is  usually  nothing  more  than  a  concise  description 
of  a  process  ;  in  grammar  a  rule  is  usually  merely  a  brief  state¬ 
ment  of  a  general  truth  in  respect  to  the  arrangement  or  form 
of  words. 

Examples  of  induction. — The  process  by  which  a  child 
reaches  a  general  truth  may  be  easily  illustrated  by  reference 
to  some  of  the  things  with  which  children  are  supposed  to  be 
well  acquainted. 

Ask  a  child  how  many  petals  an  apple  blossom  has  ;  he  will 
examine  a  few  blossoms,  plucked  from  half  a  dozen  different 
trees,  and  answer  without  hesitation  five.  Inquire  how 
many  seed  cells  the  apple  has,  and  he  will  arrive  at  his  con¬ 
clusion  by  the  same  method.  In  all  such  cases  children 
reason  correctly,  although  the  process  is  probably  almost 


74 


A  PRIMER  OF  PEDAGOGY. 


unconscious.  In  the  school  they  will  frequently  need  to  be 
guarded  against  the  danger  of  drawing  conclusions  too  hastily 
and  from  an  examination  of  an  insufficient  number  of  indi¬ 
viduals. 

In  arithmetic. — In  elementary  work  in  arithmetic  the 
teacher  should  require  a  pupil  to  “  do  ”  a  considerable  number 
of  similar  problems,  to  examine  with  great  care  the  process  in 
each  case,  and  then  to  formulate  a  rule  for  all  problems  of  the 
same  kind. 

Essentially  the  same  method  should  be  employed  in  more 
advanced  classes  in  mathematics,  and  in  all  other  studies, 
until  the  most  important  general  truths  and  rules  have  been 
mastered. 

Processes  before  reasons. — Children,  from  the  very  nature 
of  their  minds,  will  learn  to  do  many  things  in  certain 
branches  of  study,  and  will  find  great  pleasure  in  doing  them, 
long  before  they  can  fully  and  clearly  understand  the  reasons, 
for  the  processes  which  they  employ.  They  can  discover  a 
rule,  and  can  work  by  the  rule,  while  unable  to  comprehend 
the  principle  upon  which  the  rule  depends.  At  this  stage  of 
their  development  and  progress  it  is  unwise  to  attempt  to 
teach  them  to  repeat  in  a  parrot-like  way  explanations  and 
principles  which  have  no  meaning  to  them.  Require  reasons 
so  far  and  only  so  far  as  they  are  capable  of  giving  them 
understandingly. 

Deduction. — When  general  principles  have  been  learned 
by  induction,  and  definitions  and  rules  have  been  mastered, 
the  method  of  teaching,  in  many  cases,  will  naturally  be 
changed.  The  principle,  the  definition,  or  the  rule,  becomes 
the  starting  point.  The  method  is  now  deductive.  Deduction 


A  PRIMER  OF  PEDAGOGY. 


75 


is  the  process  of  applying  general  principles ,  definitions  and 
rides  to  particular  cases  and  individual  examples. 

Illustrations. — For  illustration,  as  soon  as  a  pupil  has  thor¬ 
oughly  learned  the  rules  of  addition,  subtraction,  multiplica¬ 
tion,  and  division,  he  has  only  to  apply  these  to  the  solution  of 
any  new  problem  which  is  given  to  him.  The  inductive  proc¬ 
esses  are  no  longer  necessary.  The  same  is  true  in  the  study 
of  language,  and  indeed  in  all  studies. 

The  deductive  method  is  especially  employed  in  all  branches 
where  the  work  is  largely  classification,  as  in  botany  and 
zoology.  The  characteristics  of  great  families  or  classes  are 
first  learned,  and  these  characteristics  are  then  used  in  deter¬ 
mining  what  individual  plants,  flowers,  or  animals  are,  and 
where  they  belong  in  the  vegetable  or  animal  kingdom. 

Both  methods  employed  constantly. — While  elementary 
methods  are  mostly  inductive,  and  advanced  methods  are 
largely  deductive,  yet  both  induction  and  deduction  are  con¬ 
stantly  used  in  every  grade  of  a  school  and  in  almost  every 
class  and  study.  Frequently  both  are  employed  in  the  same 
lesson.  Induction  being  first  used  to  reach  some  general  law 
or  rule,  and  then  deduction  in  applying  this  law  or  rule  to 
special  cases  and  examples. 

Language  before  grammar. — The  third  special  law  re¬ 
quires  language  to  be  taught  before  grammar.  Under  one  of 
the  general  laws  some  suggestions  were  made  for  teaching 
language  lessons.  A  few  suggestions  will  be  added  here  in 
respect  to  the  very  earliest  instruction  in  language  to  the 
youngest  children.  Next  to  the  training  of  the  senses  the  most 
important  work  of  the  primary  teacher  is  the  training  of  her 


76 


A  PRIMER  OF  PEDAGOGY. 


jiupils  to  use  language  correctly  and  readily.  Children  learn 
their  first  lessons  in  language  by  imitation.  They  repeat  what 
they  hear.  Forms  of  speech,  acquired  before  entering  school, 
cling  to  them  through  all  after  life.  If  these  forms  are  correct 
the  teacher’s  task  is  comparatively  easy ;  if  they  are  bad  her 
work  is  much  more  difficult. 

Suggestions. — (1)  First  of  all ,  the  teacher's  language  should 
he  good ,  grammatically  correct ,  and  worthy  of  imitation. 
This  is  of  vital  importance.  The  teacher’s  conversations  with 
the  children,  her  remarks  to  classes  and  to  the  school,  are  so 
many  continuous  lessons  in  language ;  they  are  more  effective 
than  all  other  lessons. 

(2)  Next  to  this  in  importance  is  the  correction  of  any  had 
hahits  of  speech  which  the  children  may  have  already  acquired. 

This  should  be  done  in  such  a  way  as  not  to  wound  their  sen¬ 
sibilities,  or  to  give  the  impression  that  the  teacher  takes 
pleasure  in  criticising  them. 

(3)  In  recitations  and  in  all  formal  school  exercises  he  sure 
that  a  child  has  clear  and  distinct  ideas  before  he  tries  to  ex¬ 
press  them .  The  expression  of  an  idea  or  thought  can  never, 
unless  by  some  mere  chance,  be  clearer  or  more  distinct  than 
the  idea  or  thought  as  represented  in  the  mind.  Confusion  of 
language  necessarily  follows  confusion  of  thought.  An  ob¬ 
ject  seen  indistinctly  can  be  described  only  vaguely.  A  child 
should  not  be  allowed  to  describe  an  object  of  perception 
until  he  has  observed  it  so  fully  and  carefully  that  he  knows 
exactly  what  he  wishes  and  intends  to  say.  The  same  re¬ 
quirement  should  be  made  when  questions  are  put  which  call 
for  the  mental  act  of  representation.  This  requirement  will 
interfere  a  little  at  first  with  the  liveliness  of  a  recitation  or 


A  PRIMER  OF  PEDAGOGY.  77 

other  exercises,  but  in  the  end  progress  will  be  more  rapid. 

Imperfect  representation  and  its  causes. — During  the  early 
period  of  the  representative  stage  of  a  child’s  school  life  there  is 
great  danger  of  confusion  of  ideas  in  his  mind,  and  of  con¬ 
sequent  incorrectness  in  the  use  of  words.  A  story  is  told,  or 
a  narrative  is  read,  and  the  pupil  is  required  to  reproduce  the 
story  or  the  narrative  in  his  own  language.  Failure  in  the 
reproduction  may  result  from  the  fact  that  the  language  used 
in  telling  the  story  is  not  understood  by  the  child.  In  this  case 
the  pupil  can  form  no  mental  pictures,  because  the  words  sug¬ 
gest  nothing.  Consequently  he  has  nothing  to  reproduce. 

Failure  to  reproduce  may  have  another  cause.  The  pupil 
may  understand  the  language  employed  and  may  form  cor¬ 
rect  ideas,  but  his  vocabulary,  aside  from  the  words  used  by 
the  teacher  in  telling  the  story,  may  be  so  limited  that  he  is 
unable  to  express  these  ideas  correctly  in  other  words  of  his 
own  selection. 

(4)  Consequently  at  this  stage  of  school  life  a  teacher  should 
take  great  care  that  right  words  be  taught  to  children  as  they 
are  needed  by  them .  Every  new  object  or  idea  calls  for  a  new 
word.  The  word  will  be  easily  remembered  if  it  is  taught  in 
connection  with  that  of  which  it  is  the  sign  ;  the  natural  order 
is  “ things  and  words” 

Words  to  be  taught. — The  words  taught  to  young  children 
should  be  short,  plain,  every-day  words,  readily  understood 
and  easy  of  utterance.  Train  scholars  to  use  just  enough  words 
to  express  their  ideas  clearly  and  fully,  but  no  more  than  are 
needed  to  do  this.  In  this  matter  the  teacher  should  afford  an 
example  worthy  of  imitation.  Do  not  fall  into  the  habit  of 
“  talking  much  and  saying  little.” 


78 


A  PRIMER  OF  PEDAGOGY. 


Technical  terms.— The  general  rule  as  to  the  selection  of 
short,  simple,  every-day  words  for  the  use  of  children,  should  . 
not  be  pressed  to  an  unreasonable  extreme.  It  is  not  neces¬ 
sary,  nor  is  it  desirable,  to  avoid  the  ‘use  of  all  technical  terms 
in  early  instruction.  Such  terms  should  not  be  employed  un¬ 
necessarily,  or  too  freely,  but  there  is  no  sufficient  reason  for 
excluding  them  entirely.  Oral  and  all  early  teaching  should 
prepare  pupils  to  use  text-books.  Some  previous  knowledge  of 
language  of  books  will  help  the  pupil  greatly  when  he  com¬ 
mences  to  use  them. 

(5)  Finally ,  give  young  children  much  practice  in  the  use  of 
correct  forms  of  expression. 

The  end  to  be  reached. — The  end  desired  is  the  formation 
of  a  habit  of  employing  good  language.  Habit  is  formed  only 
by  long-continued  practice.  Sentences  properly  arranged  must 
be  spoken  over  and  over  again,  must  be  written  repeatedly, 
until  the  sounds  and  forms  become  so  familiar  that  the  tongue 
utters  them  and  the  fingers  write  them  almost  automatically. 
Training  in  this  matter  should  begin  in  the  lowest  classes 
and  should  be  continued  systematically  through  all  the  primary 
grades. 

SUMMARY  OF  CHAPTER  V. 

1.  Each  period  of  development  has  its  own  peculiar  forms  of 
mental  activity. 

2.  Subordinate  or  special  laws  of  mind  and  of  teaching. 

3.  First  special  law  of  mind  and  corresponding  law  of 
teaching. 

4.  Some  maxims  applicable  to  the  early  period  of  school  life. 

5.  One  leading  purpose  at  this  time. 


A  PRIMER  OF  PEDAGOGY. 


79 


6.  What  object  teaching  is,  and  what  objective  teaching  is. 

7.  Use  of  object  lessons. 

8.  Bad  object  lessons. 

9.  How  children  should  be  taught  to  observe. 

10.  Effect  of  good  object  teaching. 

11.  Some  questions  as  to  observing. 

’  12.  Examples  of  concrete  lessons  in  arithmetic. 

18.  Concrete  spelling  lessons. 

14.  To  what  stage  of  learning  the  second  part  of  the  first  law 
applies. 

15.  Order  of  progress  in  each  stage. 

16.  Illustration  from  work  in  reading. 

17.  Order  in  language  lessons. 

18. *  Different  modes  of  expression. 

19.  When  representation  commences. 

■20.  Second  special  law  of  mind,  and  of  teaching. 

21.  Third  special  law  of  mind,  and  of  teaching. 

,  22.  Applications  of  these  laws. 

23.  How  a  child  probably  forms  his  earliest  ideas  of  classes 
of  objects. 

24.  Induction  defined,  and  examples. 

25.  Induction  in  arithmetic. 

26.  Processes  before  reasons,  etc. 

27.  Deduction  defined  and  illustrated. 

28.  Both  methods  constantly  employed. 

29.  Language  before  grammar.  Importance  of  training  in 
language. 

30.  Suggestions  for  elementary  training  in  language. 

81.  Causes  of  imperfect  representation  on  the  part  of  young 
children,  and  of  imperfect  reproduction. 

82.  Kind  of  words  to  be  taught.  Technical  terms. 


80 


A  PRIMER  OF  PEDAGOGY. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

SUGGESTIVE  APPLICATIONS  OF  LAWS  OF  MIND. 

Previous  applications  of  laws. — In  previous  chapters  appli¬ 
cations  of  some  laws  of  mind  to  the  teaching  of  several  ! 
elementary  studies  were  indicated  as  fully  as  space  would 
permit.  These  examples  were  designed  to  suggest  how 
teachers  may  make  applications  of  these  laws  for  themselves,  j 
It  is  better  for  teachers  to  do  this  than  to  imitate  and  follow 
altogether  models  given  by  others.  No  one  can  become  em¬ 
inently  successful  in  teaching  unless  she  does  something  more 
than  merely  strive  to  imitate  another  teacher.  Every  per¬ 
son  has,  or  should  have,  some  individuality.  The  highest 
success  will  he  obtained  by  first  mastering  principles  and  laics 
and  then  applying  these  according  to  one's  own  individual 
peculiarities ,  habits  of  thought ,  and  modes  of  action.  One 
never  acquires  freedom  of  movement  or  a  graceful  gait  by 
trying  to  walk  exactly  in  the  footsteps  of  another,  however  easy 
and  graceful  the  movement  and  gait  of  that  other  may  be. 
Seek  to  improve  and  make  the  most  of  yourself ,  but  do  not 
make  an  effort  to  become  somebody  else.  Success  is  not  in 
that  direction. 

Other  applications. — For  the  benefit  of  inexperienced  teachers 
a  few  additional  applications  of  laws  of  mind  and  teaching 
are  given  here,  simply  to  indicate  the  general  character  of  such 
applications,  and  some  things  which  must  be  considered  in 
making  them. 

First  thing. — First  of  all,  before  commencing  to  teach  any 
subject,  determine  exactly  what  you  propose  to  do,  the  end 


A  PR1MEK  OF  PEDAGOGY. 


81 


which  you  expect  to  reach ,  and  fix  in  your  own  mind  clearly 
and  in  regular  order  the  successive  steps  by  which  that  end  is 
to  be  reached .  Unless  this  is  done  you  will  work  at  random, 
wasting  your  own  time  and  also  that  of  your  pupils.  In 
determining  what  is  to  be  done,  or  what  should  be  attempted, 
the  age  and  degree  of  development  and  intelligence  of  scholars 
must  be  taken  into  account.  The  maxim,  “from  the  known 
to  the  unknown,”  should  be  kept  in  mind,  because  the  present 
knowledge  of  the  child  must  be  the  starting  point  in  the  effort 
to  lead  him  to  acquire  that  which  is  now  the  unknown. 

Second  thing.— Having  done  this,  next  state  to  yourself 
distinctly  the  laivs  of  mind  and  of  teaching  which  are  to  guide 
you  in  the  work ,  and  are  to  determine  the  particular  methods 
to  be  employed. 

The  general  laws  will  always  be  applicable,  and  are  to  be 
kept  in  mind  in  all  cases.  Some  whole  is  to  be  presented, 
although  it  may  be  only  a  small  part  of  some  greater  whole. 
The  processes  of  thinking,  by  which  knowledge  is  rendered 
clear  and  definite,  must  be  regarded  and  provided  for ;  and 
the  laws  of  association  must  be  constantly  employed  so  as  to 
render  retention  and  reproduction  sure  and  easy. 

Special  laws  to  be  determined. — What  needs  to  be  deter¬ 
mined,  therefore,  is,  what  special  or  subordinate  laws  of  mind 
and  of  teaching  apply  to  the  matter  in  hand.  In  order  to 
determine  this,  it  is  necessary  to  consider  the  age  and  degree 
of  intelligence  of  pupils  ;  whether  they  are  in  the  primary  or 
in  a  more  advanced  stage  of  development ;  whether  they  have 
01  have  not  some  knowledge  of  subject  to  be  presented. 

An  Illustration. — For  an  illustration  let  us  apply  these  sug¬ 
gestions  to  the  teaching  of 


A  PKIMER  OF  PEDAGOGY. 


82 

CIVIL  GOVERNMENT. 

The  end  or  purpose.— Suppose  the  pupils  to  belong  to  ajj 
district  school  or  to  some  of  the  intermediate  grades  of  af| 
larger  school.  What  is  the  end  or  object  to  be  attained?  Let  j 
us  agree  that  the  purpose  is  this  :  To  enable  the  scholars  to' 
obtain  a  good  degree  of  ivhat  may  be  called  practical  knowl¬ 
edge  of  our  local ,  state ,  and  national  governments .  It  is  not 
the  intention  to  teach,  except  incidentally  and  to  a  very  limited 
extent,  theories  of  government,  or  the  principles  upon  which  | 
the  various  forms  of  government  are  founded. 

The  laws. — What  laws  of  mind  and  of  teaching  will  guide 
us  in  the  work?  and  when  shall  we  commence?  The  most  im¬ 
portant  of  the  laws  are  these :  In  teaching  young  pupils,  be¬ 
gin  with  the  c  oncrete ;  begin  with  particular  and  specific  cases: 
begin  with  the  known ,  that  is,  with  that  ivliich  is  near  at 
hand ;  begin  with  that  which  ivill  most  naturally  create 
interest  and  secure  attention;  proceed,  as  far  as  possible ,  in¬ 
ductively.  If  these  laws  are  regarded  it  will  be  easy  to  decide 
where  and  how  to  commence. 

In  district  schools. — Suppose  one  is  teaching  in  a  district 
school,  and  that  a  school  meeting  has  just  been  held,  or  is  to 
be  held  soon,  in  which  officers  of  the  district  are  elected  and 
other  business  is  transacted.  In  this  case  begin  instruction 
with  the  school  district.  We  have  here  a  concrete,  specific 
example,  near  at  hand,  and  adapted,  if  properly  presented,  to 
excite  interest  and  secure  attention.  Incidentally  the  nature  j 
of  democratic  government,  a  government  in  which  all  the 
people  take  part,  can  be  shown  ;  and  also  the  nature  of  repre¬ 
sentative  government,  since  the  school  board  act  for  and  in 
behalf  of  the  people,  and  thus  represent  them.  Instruction  is 


A  PRIMER  OE  PEDAGOGY. 


83 


supposed  to  be  oral.  Do  not  hasten ;  take  points  one  by  one  ; 
state  questions  clearly,  and  allow  pupils  to  find  out  things  for 
themselves,  as  far  as  possible,  by  inquiring  of  their  parents 
and  other  persons.  In  this  way  the  organization  of  the  dis¬ 
trict,  its  officers,  the  time  and  mode  of  their  election,  their 
duties  as  individuals  and  as  a  board  can  be  taught  so  that  the 
knowledge  will  be  of  practical  value  to  the  pupils  and  will  be 
easily  retained. 

In  village  or  city. — If  one  is  teaching  in  a  village  or  in  a 
city  it  will  be  natural  to  commence  with  the  organization  and 
government  of  the  village  or  city,  following  the  method  indi¬ 
cated  for  the  study  of  the  district. 

The  township,  county,  etc. — The  transition  from  the  district 
to  the  township  can  be  readily  made  by  inquiring  about  the 
boundaries  of  the  district,  and  by  whom  these  boundaries  are 
fixed.  These  inquiries  bring  us  to  the  township  board  of  school 
inspectors  and  to  the  township  organization. 

The  officers  of  the  township  and  their  duties  may  be  studied 
in  the  manner  suggested  for  the  study  of  the  district.  Addi¬ 
tional  interest  will  be  excited  if  the  township  is  studied  near 
the  time  of  the  election  of  officers. 

From  the  township  the  passage  will  be  easy  to  the  county, 
and  then  to  the  state,  and  finally  to  the  United  States. 

If  the  government  of  the  state  is  studied  near  the  time  of  a 
state  election  it  will  be  easy  to  give  information  in  relation  to 
the  caucus,  to  the  county  and  state  conventions,  and  the  busi¬ 
ness  and  management  of  these  meetings. 

Law  making,  etc. — It  will  be  an  excellent  time  to  study 
the  Legislature  when  that  body  is  in  session.  The  whole 


84 


A  PRIMER  OF  PEDAGOGY. 


process  of  law  making  can  then  be  illustrated  by  reference  tc 
the  proceedings  of  the  Legislature.  The  progress  of  some  bill, 
in  which  pupils  may  be  interested,  can  be  traced  from  its  first 
introduction  to  its  final  passage,  every  step  being  carefully 
indicated  from  day  to  day. 

United  States  government. — The  approach  of  a  presiden¬ 
tial  election  affords  a  most  favorable  opportunity  for  studying 
the  government  of  the  United  States,  since  the  election  ol 
members  of  Congress  takes  place  at  the  same  time.  The 
election  of  United  States  senators  should  be  studied,  if  possible, 
in  connection  with  a  meeting  of  the  State  Legislature  wher 
the  election  of  a  senator  takes  place.  This  method  makes  the 
instruction  as  nearly  concrete  as  it  can  be  made  unless  pupils 
are  able  to  be  present  at  district,  township,  and  other  similai 
meetings. 

Method  with  advanced  classes. — With  classes  of  advanced 
pupils  it  will  sometimes  be  wise  to  employ  a  different  method 
based  upon  such  laws  as  these :  commence  with  the  larges i 
' possible  ivhole ,  and  go  from  the  ivhole  to  its  parts ;  begin  wit l 
the  abstract ,  with  general  principles ,  zoith  definitions ;  witl 
advanced  pupils  employ  deduction.  In  this  case,  present  first 
a  general  outline  and  then  study  its  various  parts,  going  into 
details  as  fully  as  circumstances  permit.  Begin  with  s 
definition  of  government  with  all  necessary  illustrations  :  nexl 
define  the  various  kinds  of  government,  such  as  civil,  military, 
monarchical,  republican,  representative,  national,  state,  school 
family.  Then,  taking  the  government  of  the  United  States.l 
proceed  to  study  one  by  one  the  different  departments.  Frorr 
the  national  come  to  the  state  government,  following  the 
same  general  plan ;  finally  proceed  to  the  county  and  the 


A  PRIMER  OF  PEDAGOGY. 


85 


township.  Where  text-books  are  used  this  method  will  usually 
be  employed.  It  will,  however,  be  profitable  to  use  the  con¬ 
crete  method,  to  some  extent,  even  in  the  most  advanced 
grades. 

HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

It  may  be  of  advantage  to  suggest  briefly  what  some  of  the 
laws  of  mind  and  of  teaching  indicate  as  to  instruction  in  the 
subject  of  United  States  history  to  pupils  in  district  schools, 
ind  in  the  lower  grades  of  larger  schools.  The  work  is  neces¬ 
sarily  elementary  in  its  character,  and  methods  adapted  to 
idvanced  classes  are  not  appropriate  here.  Introductory  out- 
ines  and  synopses  are  out  of  place.  The  whole  of  children, 
it  this  period,  is  a  single  event  or  a  short  series  of  closely 
’elated  events ;  the  adventures  of  one  man,  or  of  a  single  body 
)f  men. 

In  the  end,  by  a  natural  process  of  induction  and  arrange- 
nent,  many  events  may  be  grouped  together  and  the  relation 
>f  these  events  to  each  other  may  be  discovered. 

Object  to  be  attained.— The  object  maybe  stated  thus:  To 
\nable  pupils  to  gain  and  retain  a  knowledge  of  the  most  im¬ 
portant  events  in  the  history  of  the  country.  This  will  neces- 
arily  include  a  knowledge  of  the  leading  men  who  have 
,cted  in  those  events ;  a  knowledge  of  discoveries  and  inven- 
ions  in  the  arts  and  sciences ;  of  improvements  in  means  of 
ravel  and  transportation,  and  of  the  general  progress  of  the 
ountry  in  all  directions.  It  will  not  include  the  details  of  all 
he  early  voyages  of  discovery,  nor  all  the  incidents  of  the 
'rench  and  Indian  wars,  nor  all  the  marches  and  counter¬ 
marches  of  armies  in  any  of  our  wars.  The  unimportant  and 
nessential  must  be  omitted. 


86 


A  PRIMER  OF  PEDAGOGY. 


Laws  applicable. — Most  of  the  laws  named  as  applicable  in 
teaching  civil  government  will  apply  equally  well  in  teaching  . 
the  history.  The  concrete  will  be  of  a  different  sort,  and  more 
emphasis  must  be  put  upon  the  law  that  young  children  seek 
to  learn  facts ,  events ,  processes ,  and  so  on,  before  they  care 
to  study  causes,  reasons,  relations,  and  consequences . 

First  lessons  in  history. — The  first  lessons  in  history  should 
be  taught  in  connection  with  the  elementary  study  of  local 
geography.  When  a  place  is  studied,  anecdotes  of  men  and 
events  connected  with  the  place  should  be  related  in  a  brief, 
animated  and  interesting  way,  by  the  teacher  or  by  some 
pupil.  Topics  of  various  kinds  may  be  assigned  before  hand  to 
individual  members  of  a  class,  and  references  may  be  given  to 
books  in  which  matter  can  be  found.  Progress  in  geography 
may  seem  to  be  less  rapid,  but  real  progress  in  knowledge  will 
be  much  more  rapid,  and  that  which  is  learned  will  be  re¬ 
tained  by  the  natural  law  of  association,  that  is,  by  the  law  of 
contiguity;  places,  events,  and  persons  being  all  linked  together 
in  the  mind.  Men  and  events  connected  with  many  places  are 
so  numerous  that  selections  must  be  made  according  to  cir¬ 
cumstances,  or  according  tQ  the  taste  of  the  teacher.  The 
story  of  Wolfe  and  Montcalm  may  be  associated  with  Quebec  ;  j 
of  John  Smith  and  Pocahontas  with  the  James  river;  of  De- 
Soto  with  the  lower  Mississippi ;  of  Pere  Marquette  with  the 
Great  Lakes  ;  of  the  Conspiracy  of  Pontiac  with  Detroit.  The  J 
only  difficulty  will  be  in  making  wise  selections  from  the 
abundance  of  material. 


More  formal  lessons. — The  next  and  more  formal  lessons 


in  history  for  children  should 


dotes,  of  short  stories  of  ever] 


A  PRIMER:  OE  PEDAGOGY. 


87 

biographies  of  distinguished  men.  These  must  not  be  taken 
at  random,  but  in  some  regular  and  chronological  order,  so 
they  may  finally  be  connected  into  a  continuous  series.  This 
order  need  not  necessarily  be  stated  to  the  pupils  at  the 
outset,  but  should  be  very  clear  in  the  teacher’s  mind.  The 
method  of  working  with  a  class  must  be  adapted  to  circum¬ 
stances.  If  books  are  abundant,  the  members  of  a  class  may 
be  required  to  read  for  themselves  and  to  relate,  either  orally 
or  in  writing,  the  substance  of  what  they  have  read.  The 
teacher  will  then  indicate  the  important  portions  of  the  stories 
which  are  to  be  fastened  in  the  memory.  If  books  are  scarce, 
the  teacher  will  read  or  relate  the  story,  or  appoint  some  good 
reader  among  the  pupils  to  read,  while  the  other  members  of 
the  class  listen  and  afterwards  write  out  as  much  of  the  matter 
as  they  can  recall,  being  guided  by  the  teacher  so  that  they 
will  reproduce  the  essential  parts.  If  a  text-book  is  used,  this 
work  can  be  carried  along  in  connection  with  lessons  assigned 
from  the  book.  This  leads  to  a  remark  which  may  be  next 
akin  to  educational  treason  :  with  a  live  and  thoroughly  pre¬ 
pared  teacher  the  more  different  good  text-hooks  in  the  history 
class  the  better  for  the  class. 

The  lessons,  of  course,  are  assigned  topically,  and  each  pupil 
learns  and  states  what  his  book  contains  upon  a  topic.  In  this 
way  the  whole  class  can  have  the  substance  of  what  all  the 
books  contain.  When  any  topic  has  been  fully  studied  the 
teacher  should  make  a  summary  of  the  important  points  which 
pupils  can  copy  in  note  books.  At  the  end  of  the  term  of  study 
these  note  books  will  furnish  the  connected  substance  of  the 
history,  and  will  serve  as  means  for  review. 

Advanced  teaching. — As  in  teaching  civil  government  so  in 


88 


A  PRIMER  OF  PEDAGOGY. 


teaching  history:  the  laws  of  mind  indicate  that  the  class  may 
commence  by  learning  a  general  outline.  This  outline  serves 
in  the  history'  the  purpose  which  the  outline  map  serves  in 
geography.  This  method  is  so  familiar  that  it  is  unnecessary 
to  describe  it  further. 

These  examples  are  sufficient  to  illustrate  the  applications 
which  teachers  may  make  for  themselves  of  both  the  general 
and  special  laws  of  mind  and  teaching. 

SUMMARY  OF  CHAPTER  VI. 

1.  Previous  applications  of  laws  of  mind. 

2.  How  the  highest  success  will  be  attained  by  a  teacher. 

8.  First  thing  to  be  determined  before  commencing  any 
subject. 

4.  Second  thing  to  be  distinctly  stated. 

5.  What  as  to  general  laws. 

6.  What  as  to  special  laws. 

7.  The  illustration  of  civil  government. 

8.  The  end  or  purpose  in  this  case. 

9.  The  guiding  laws  or  principles. 

10.  How  begin  and  proceed  in  a  district  school. 

11.  How  begin  in  a  village  or  city. 

12.  How  interest  may  be  increased. 

18.  When  law-making  may  be  best  studied. 

14.  When  the  government  of  the  United  States  may  be  best 
studied. 

15.  Method  with  advanced  classes. 

16.  Laws  applied  to  teaching  United  States  history. 

17.  Object  to  be  attained  with  elementary  classes. 

18.  Law  specially  applicable. 

19.  First  lessons  in  history. 

20.  More  formal  lessons. 


A  PRIMER  OF  PEDAGOGY. 


89 


21.  Method  of  working  in  a  class. 

22.  As  to  text-books. 

23.  Method  with  advanced  classes. 

24.  Use  of  these  illustrations. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

MORAL  DEVELOPMENT,  INSTRUCTION  AND  TRAINING. 

The  moral  nature. — For  our  purpose  it  will  be  sufficiently 
definite  to  consider  the  moral  nature  as  that  in  man  ivliich 
concerns  itself  about  questions  of  right  and  wrong.  It  makes 
such  inquiries  as  these  :  Ought  a  child  to  obey  his  parents  ? 
ought  parents  to  care  for,  to  protect,  to  educate  their  children  ? 
ought  scholars  to  be  obedient  to  the  rules  of  a  school  ?  ought 
a  teacher  to  labor  earnestly  for  the  highest  good  of  his  pupils? 
ought  a  man  to  be  honest  in  business?  is  it  ever  right  to  lie,  to 
cheat,  to  take  advantage  of  another  man’s  ignorance  in  a  trade  ? 
These  and  many  other  similar  questions  men  are  constantly 
asking  themselves.  Children  begin  to  ask  such  questions  at  a 
very  early  period  in  their  lives. 

Idea  of  right. — The  fact  that  such  inquiries  are  made  by 
all  sorts  of  people  in  all  parts  of  the  world,  seems  to  prove 
that  human  beings  everywhere  have  an  idea  that  there  is  such 
a  thing  as  right  and  such  a  thing  as  wrong.  This  idea  is 
probably  intuitive  in  the  soul ;  that  is,  it  springs  up  sponta¬ 
neously  in  the  mind  as  soon  as  a  child  is  old  enough  to  think 
with  some  degree  of  clearness,  to  act  with  reference  to  some 
end,  to  observe  the  conduct  of  others,  and  to  understand,  in 
some  measure,  the  consequences  of  his  own  conduct  and  of 


90 


A  Pit  I M  E  K  OF  PEDAGOGY. 


the  conduct  of  those  about  him.  The  child’s  earliest  notions  of 

t, 

right  and  wrong  are,  without  doubt,  very  crude  and  ill-defined. 
Gradually,  if  properly  instructed  and  trained,  he  comes  to  have 
more  definite  ideas,  and  begins  to  feel  that  he  ought  to  do  one 
thing  in  preference  to  another,  and  that  he  may  properly  be 

i 

blamed  for  one  sort  of  conduct  and  praised  for  a  different  sort. 

In  other  words  he^begins  to  comprehend  the  fact  that  there  is 
some  rule  or  law  concerning  behavior,  and  that  his  conduct 
should  conform  to  this  law. 

Moral  law. — At  this  stage  of  development  the  child  has  a 
dim  and  confused  notion  of  what  we  call  moral  law;  which,  jjj 
for  our  present  purpose,  may  be  defined  as  a  collection  of  prin-  “ 
ciples  and  rides  for  the  regulation  of  the  conduct  of  human  j 
beings  in  all  the  various  relations  of  life .  The  most  impor¬ 

tant  and  essential  of  these  principles  are  very  nearly,  if  not 
quite,  axioms  or  self  evident  truths.  Men  everywhere  admit 
them  to  be  true,  even  though  they  disregard  them  in  their 
manner  of  living. 

First  principle. — One  of  these  principles  may  be  stated 
thus :  Give  to  every  man  his  due ,  or  render  to  every  man  his 
right .  This  requires  us  to  give  to  every  human  being  that 
which  belongs  to  him ;  honor  to  whom  honor  is  due  ;  obedi¬ 
ence  to  whom  obedience  is  due ;  respect  to  whom  respect  is 
due  ;  courtesy,  kindness,  protection,  good-will,  love,  to  whom 
these  are  due.  This  law  touches  all  the  ordinary  relations  in 
the  family,  in  the  school,  in  society,  in  business,  in  the  state. 

It  is  broad  enough  to  regulate  to  a  large  extent  the  conduct  of 
children,  of  parents,  of  scholars,  of  teachers,  and  of  men  and 
women  in  all  social,  business,  and  other  relations.  This  law 
asks  only  justice  ;  it  is  the  basis  of  human  society.  Without 


A  PRIMER  OF  PEDAGOGY. 


91 


some  tolerable  regard  for  it  men  could  not  associate  together. 
Nobody  will  object  to  teaching  this  principle  in  the  public 
schools,  or  in  any  other  place. 

Second  principle. — Another  of  these  laws  may  be  em¬ 
bodied  in  this  language  :  “Do  unto  others  as  you  loould  have 
them  do  unto  you  ”  in  like  conditions  and  circumstances.  In 
other  words,  put  yourself  in  another's  place  and  consider  how 
you  would  wish  to  be  treated  in  that  place.  This  rule  carries 
one  far  beyond  the  requirements  of  simple  justice.  It  bids 
us  do  good  to  all  men  as  far  as  we  are  able  ;  to  forgive  those 
who  have  wronged  us  ;  to  have  compassion  on  the  suffering  • 
to  pity  the  weak  and  erring  ;  to  help  those  who  need  help 
even  though  they  have  no  claims  upon  us  ;  in  a  word,  to  do 
all  in  our  power  to  make  others  better  and  to  render  them 
happier. 

Law  of  beneficence. — This  is  the  law  of  beneficence  and 
good-will,  applied  once  by  a  Samaritan  to  an  unfortunate 
individual  belonging  to  a  race  which  despised  and  hated  him. 
Fully  recognized,  it  forbids  us  to  render  evil  for  evil ;  to  return 
a  harsh  word  for  one  which  we  have  received;  “to  give”  a 
bad  man  or  boy  “  as  good  as  he  has  sent,”  or  “  pay  him  back 
in  his  own  coin.”  This  does  not  forbid  the  using  of  proper 
measures  in  self  defense,  nor  the  infliction  of  proper  chas¬ 
tisement  upon  any  overbearing  “bully”  who  recognizes  no 
authority  unless  it  is  backed  by  brute  force,  and  respects  only 
what  he  fears. 

How  much  embraced. — These  two  principles  embrace  the 
whole  moral  law  so  far  as  it  applies  to  human  relations. 
They  teach  justice,  benevolence,  mercy,  and  forgiveness. 
Obedience  to  them  would  make  the  family,  the  school,  society 


92 


A  PRIMER  OF  PEDAGOGY. 


generally  and  Jtlie  state  what  they  should  be ;  would  render 
men  honest,  truthful,  upright,  honorable,  and  manly  in  the 
highest  sense  of  that  word. 

Purpose  of  moral  instruction  and  training. — The  purpose 
of  moral  instruction  and  training  is  to  lead  children  to  act 
constantly  and  uniformly  in  harmony  with  these  laws .  They 
will  thus  be  made  obedient  to  rightful  authority  in  the  home, 
in  the  school,  and  in  the  state.  They  will  be  taught  truthful¬ 
ness  in  word  and  in  deed,  honesty  in  business  and  in  pleasure, 
purity  in  heart  and  in  life,  integrity  in  both  private  and  public 
affairs.  The  natural  tendency  of  such  instruction  and  train¬ 
ing  must  be  to  send  out  from  the  schools  good  men  and 
women,  and  to  secure  for  the  state  good  and  reliable  citizens. 

What  the  child  must  have  — In  order  to  secure  the  proposed 
end  the  child  must  ha  ve  (1)  the  necessary  knowledge :  that  is,  he 
must  be  taught  what  he  ought  to  do  and  how  he  ought  to  con¬ 
duct  himself ;  (2)  he  must  have  a  right  disposition :  that  is, 
in  some  way,  there  must  be  produced  in  his  mind  the  desire  to 
do  what  he  ought  to  do  and  to  conduct  himself  in  the  right 
way.  In  connection  with  the  production  of  this  knowledge 
and  this  disposition  in  the  child  (B)  he  needs  to  acquire,  by  con¬ 
tinued  practice,  a  permanent  habit  of  right  doing,  so  that  good 
conduct  shall  become  easy  because  it  has  become  habitual. 
Practically  the  knowledge,  the  disposition,  and  the  habit  will 
be  secured  for  the  child  at  the  same  time  and  by  the  same 
process  of  instruction  and  training. 

How  give  instruction. — The  necessary  instruction  as  to 
right  conduct  can  be  given  very  easily  by  any  teacher  who 
thoroughly  understands  the  principles  of  justice,  beneficence, 
and  mercy,  and  who  earnestly  desires  to  impress  these  upon 


A  PRIMER  OF  PEDAGOGY. 


93 


the  minds  of  his  pupils.  It  must  be  remembered,  in  dealing 
with  young  children,  that  they  are  not  yet  able  to  comprehend 
abstract  principles  or  abstract  teaching .  It  would  serve  no 
good  purpose  to  begin  by  telling  them  that  they  ought  to  be 
just  and  to  act  justly  ;  or  that  they  should  be  beneficent  and 
act  beneficently  :  or  that  they  should  be  merciful,  and  should 
deal  mercifully  with  their  associates.  Such  instruction  may 
be  appropriate  in  the  high  school,  but  not  in  the  lower  grades. 
The  teaching  here  must  be  concrete .  Justice  and  beneficence 
must  be  embodied  and  taught  by  means  of  living  examples. 
Mercy  and  forgiveness  must  be  presented  in  actual  every-day 
life,  where  they  can  be  seen. 

First  means. — Consequently,  (1)  first  and  most  important 
f  of  all ,  the  teacher  must  teach  the  principles  of  right  conduct 
by  example ,  by  his  own  daily  living  before  his  pupils.  He 
must  be  a  concrete  illustration  of  justice  and  mercy,  of  benefi¬ 
cence  and  forgiveness.  He  must  himself  be  just  in  word  and 
deed  in  all  his  relations  with  school  officers,  with  parents, 
and  with  scholars.  He  will  teach  beneficence  most  effectively 
by  his  own  beneficent  acts  and  his  own  kind  words.  He  will 
teach  purity  best  by  being  pure  in  heart,  pure  in  life  and  pure 
in  language.  He  will  teach  honor  by  being  honorable  in  all 
his  dealings,  and  patience  and  forbearance  by  being  patient 
and  forbearing  under  circumstances  naturally  adapted  to  irri¬ 
tate  and  provoke. 

Unconscious  tuition. — This  is  unconscious  tuition,  which 
has  been  so  beautifully  described  and  illustrated  by  Dr.  Hunt¬ 
ington  in  an  address  which  every  teacher  should  read  at  least 
once  a  year.  No  other  teaching  can  take  the  place  of  this, 
and  no  person  is  “  qualified,”  in  the  best  and  highest  sense  of 


A  PRIMER  OF  PEDAGOGY. 


M 

the  word,  for  a  place  in  the  schoolroom,  whose  character  and 
life  do  not  teach  the  principles  of  justice  and  righteousness. 
Neither  intellectual  power  nor  brilliant  scholarship  can  atone 
for  bad  moral  principles  and  bad  moral  conduct  and  habits. 

Second  means. — (2)  Next  to  the  teachers  own  character, 
the  best  means  of  impressing  moral  lessons  upon  children  are 
examples  found  in  the  conduct  of  associates  and  of  others 
with  whom  pupils  are  personally  acquainted.  This  is  also 
concrete  teaching.  Such  examples  must  be  selected  and 
employed  with  great  care  and  skill,  and  in  such  a  way  as  not 
to  give  offense  or  to  excite  ill-will.  It  ivill,  ivhen  this  can 
be  done,  be  better  to  use  an  example  ivliich  can  be  held  up  as 
worthy  of  imitation  rather  than  one  ivorthy  of  censure  and 
blame .  This  is  preferable  for  many  reasons  which  will  readily 
occur  to  any  teacher,  but  there  is  a  psychological  reason  which 
is  often  overlooked.  States  of  mind  repeat  themselves.  A  feel¬ 
ing  excited  in  the  child’s  mind  today  can  be  excited  more 
easily  tomorrow,  and  still  more  easily  the  third  time.  Every 
repetition  increases  the  tendency  of  the  mind  to  indulge  the 
feeling  until,  by  and  by,  it  becomes  habitual.  It  is,  conse¬ 
quently,  better  for  the  child’s  character  to  excite  feelings  of 
kindness  and  good-will  rather  than  those  of  unkindness  and 
ill-will.  It  may  be  urged  that  it  will  be  a  good  thing  to  culti¬ 
vate  in  a  child  the  feeling  of  indignation  against  injustice  and 
all  wrong-doing.  This  is  true  after  the  child  has  reached  a 
certain  stage  of  development;  but  it  should  be  remembered 
that  feeling  in  the  young  child  is  always  directed  towards  the 
actor  rather  than  the  act,  towards  individuals  rather  than 
classes. 

Third  means. — (3)  Further  opportunities  for  giving  moral 


A  PKIMEK  OF  PEDAGOGY. 


95 


instruction  can  be  found  in  connection  with  examples  and 
illustrations  afforded  by  some  of  the  selections  in  school  read¬ 
ers,  by  anecdotes  and  other  articles  in  newspapers  and  period¬ 
icals,  and  by  many  of  the  lessons  in  history. 

With  advanced  pupils. — (4)  To  advanced  students  more 
definite  and  formal  statements  of  moral  principles  should  be 
made,  with  applications  of  these  to  the  conduct  of  every¬ 
day  life.  Care  must  be  taken  that  such  statements  are  pre¬ 
sented  at  proper  times  and  under  favorable  conditions,  and 
not  in  the  form  of  regular  lessons  or  lectures  at  appointed 
hours. 

The  most  difficult  work. — The  most  difficult  part  of  the 
teacher’s  work  is  to  create  or  cause  to  be  produced  in  the  child’s 
mind  a  disposition  to  do  right ,  when  he  has  learned  what  the 
right  is,  and  to  render  this  disposition  permanent  so  that 
finally  good  conduct  ivill  become  habitual.  This  is  the  end 
towards  which  effort  should  be  directed. 

Upon  what  disposition  depends. — The  disposition  depends 
upon  the  feelings  which  control  the  action  of  the  will.  Behind 
every  determination  of  the  will  is  some  desire.  The  child  is 
disposed  to  do  what  he  wishes  or  desires  to  do.  The  problem, 
therefore,  is  to  produce  the  right  desire ;  or  if,  as  is  often  the 
case,  there  are  opposing  and  conflicting  desires,  to  give  pre¬ 
dominance  to  the  better  ones.  Anything  ivhich  produces  or 
tends  to  produce  desire,  and  thus  to  move  the  will,  may  be 
called  a  motive.  The  practical  questions  for  a  teacher  are, 
what  motives  shall  I  use,  and  how  shall  I  use  them  to  the 
best  advantage?  Only  brief  consideration  can  be  given  to 
these  questions  here,  but  every  teacher  should  study  them 
thoroughly. 


96 


A  PRIMER  OF  PEDAGOGY. 


Desire  and  good. — Desire  has  been  defined  as  the  craving  of 
the  mind  for  some  real  or  supposed  good.  The  term  good  is 
used  to  denote  anything  which  will  give  gratification,  pleas¬ 
ure,  enjoyment,  or  satisfaction  of  some  kind.  The  good  of 
one  person  may  not  be  the  good  of  another ;  the  good  of 
the  child  will  not  be  the  good  of  the  man.  The  good  to  be 
presented ,  that  is,  the  motive,  must  be  adapted  to  the  age  of 
the  person ,  to  his  degree  of  development  and  culture ,  and  to 
circumstances .  The  good  held  up  before  a  young  child  must 
be  something  near  at  hand,  something  which  appeals  to  the 
senses,  and  to  the  simple  emotions  and  affections,  something 
which  he  can  comprehend  and  appreciate.  The  far-off  has 
little  power  to  influence  childhood. 

High  and  low  motives. — The  motive  in  each  case  may  be 
considered  low  or  high  according  to  the  character  of  the  ] 
pleasure  and  satisfaction  which  the  object  presented  is  adapted 
to  afford.  The  pleasure  may  be  of  the  body  or  of  the  soul, 
may  be  immediate  or  prospective,  may  be  temporary  or  last¬ 
ing  in  its  nature,  may  relate  entirely  to  one’s  self  *  or  may  con¬ 
cern  others.  The  effort  should  be,  in  all  cases,  to  employ  the 
highest  possible  motive ;  that  is,  the  motive  which  will  excite 
the  best,  noblest,  and  purest  desires.  As  early  as  possible 
motives  should  be  employed  which  will  lead  the  child  to  have 
regard  for  others  rather  than  for  himself. 

Classes  of  motives. — Motives  may  be  divided,  for  con¬ 
venience,  into  a  few  classes ;  and  in  each  class  they  may  be 
arranged  in  an  ascending  series  adapted  to  the  progressive  ~ 
stages  and  steps  of  mental  and  moral  development. 

Lowest  class.— (1)  The  first  and  lowest  motive  which  in-  i 
lluences  the  child  is  probably  the  pleasure  arising  from  the  j 


A  PRIMER  OF  PEDAGOGY. 


97 


gratification  of  the  natural  appetites.  The  parent  makes 
more  or  less  use  of  this  motive,  but  it  can  have  little  place  in 
school.  In  more  advanced  periods  of  life  this  motive  is  re¬ 
inforced  by  the  pleasure  derived  from  the  gratification  of  the 
passions  and  artificial  appetites.  This  motive  keeps  man  on  a 
level  with  the  brutes. 

Approval,  etc.— (2)  The  satisfaction  resulting  from  being 
approved,  praised,  esteemed,  and  commended  is  a  powerful 
motive  in  childhood,  and  indeed  during  the  whole  life.  The 
child  values  the  approval  of  parents,  teachers,  associates,  etc. 
When  more  developed,  he  values  most  of  all  the  approval  of 
his  own  conscience  and  of  the  Divine  Being. 

Activity,  etc. — (3)  The  pleasure  and  satisfaction  derived 
from  the  proper  exercise  of  one’s  own  powers  constitute  a  very 
strong  motive  in  every  period  of  life.  Appropriate  exercise 
of  body  gives  positive  pleasure  to  the  child.  Mental  exercise 
affords  still  higher  satisfaction.  Probably  the  highest  enjoy¬ 
ment  of  which  man  is  susceptible  comes  from  the  right 
exercise  of  his  highest  and  noblest  powers. 

Possession,  etc. — (4)  The  satisfaction  resulting  from  pos¬ 
session  is  also  a  powerful  motive,  operating  sometimes  in  the 
direction  of  good,  sometimes  in  the  direction  of  evil.  This 
general  motive  embraces  a  great  number  of  particular  cases, 
such  as  the  possession  of  knowledge,  of  property,  of  power, 
of  rank,  of  esteem,  and  many  others.  Prizes  and  rewards 
appeal  to  this  principle. 

Select  motives. — From  these  various  classes  such  motives 
should  be  selected  in  the  school  as  are  adapted  to  the  different 
pupils.  Always  select  the  highest  one  which  can  be  made 
effective. 

Lowest  motive. — The  lowest  motive  to  which  the  teacher 
can  appeal  is  the  desire  for  present  personal  bodily  gratifica¬ 
tion  and  pleasures.  Corporal  punishment  appeals  to  this 
motive  by  exciting  fear  of  pain. 

Highest  motive. — The  highest  motive  is  the  desire  to  do 
7 


98 


A  PRIMER  OF  PEDAGOGY. 


right  because  it  is  right.  This  is  duty  in  the  best  sense  of  the 
word.  This  involves  the  desire  for  the  approval  of  one’s  own 
conscience  and  the  approval  of  God. 

Character. — The  final  result  of  moral  development,  instruc-  - 
tion,  and  training  in  the  school  should  be  the  production  of  tiie 
highest  type  of  character  in  the  pupils,  character  being  the 
sum  of  the  dispositions  which  have  been  created  in  the  mind, 
and  of  the  habits  which  manifest  themselves  in  conduct. 

SUMMARY  OF  CHAPTER  VII. 

1.  The  moraljiature  defined. 

2.  What  questions  are  asked. 

3.  Idea  of  right  and  wrong  universal. 

4.  A  child’s  early  ideas  of  right  and  wrong. 

5.  What  moral  law  is. 

6.  The  two  general  principles  stated. 

7.  What  the  principle  of  justice  includes. 

8.  What  the  principle  of  beneficence  includes. 

9.  The  purpose  of  moral  instruction  and  training. 

10.  The  things  which  the  child  must  have. 

11.  How  instruction  may  be  given. 

12.  Why  abstract  principles  should  not  be  taught  to  young 
children. 

13.  The  means  which  can  be  used  in  moral  teaching. 

14.  What  the  teacher  should  be. 

15.  Unconscious  tuition. 

16.  What  sort  of  examples  should  be  used  and  why. 

17.  What  may  be  done  for  advanced  students. 

18.  The  most  difficult  part  of  the  work. 

19.  Upon  what  disposition  depends. 

20.  What  a  motive  is. 

21.  Desire  and  good  defined. 

22.  High  and  low  motives. 

23.  Rule  for  the  selection  of  motives. 

24.  First  class  of  motives ;  second  class  ;  third  class  :  fourth 
class. 

25.  The  lowest  motive  ;  the  highest  motive. 

26.  What  the  final  result  of  moral  development,  instruction 
and  training  should  be. 

27.  Character  defined. 


A  PK1MEB  OF  PEDAGOGY. 


09 


QUESTIONS  FOR  REVIEW. 

1.  State  the  three  questions  which  present  themselves  to 
one  preparing  for  any  work. 

2.  Why  do  we  value  a  machine  or  a  road  ? 

3.  What  is  the  real  work  of  a  teacher  ? 

4.  What  should  the  education  of  a  child  include  ? 

5.  What  do$s  development  produce  ? 

6.  What  does  training  produce? 

7.  What  should  instruction  produce  ? 

8.  Give  Tate’s  definition  of  education. 

9.  What  is  Milton’s  definition  ? 

10.  Give  the  substance  of  Addison’s  statement. 

11.  What  does  Plato  say  of  doing? 

12.  Name  the  different  varieties  of  education. 

13.  What  must  one  know  in  order  to  educate  a  child  ? 

14.  State  the  illustration  of  the  trainer  of  horses. 

15.  Describe  the  nervous  system  and  the  different  kinds  of 
nerves. 

16.  State  the  kind  of  knowledge  which  each  one  of  the 
senses  gives  us. 

<  17.  What  is  the  mind  ? 

18.  What  is  consciousness  ? 

19.  State  and  illustrate  the  relation  of  consciousness  and  the 
senses. 

20.  Where  does  the  process  of  education  begin  ? 

21.  What  is  perception  as  an  act?  what  as  a  power? 

22.  What  is  a  percept?  Give  illustrations. 

23.  Explain  how  we  get  the  ideas  of  space  and  time. 

24.  What  is  intuition  ? 

25.  Name  and  define  the  group  of  perceptive  powers. 

26.  Give  examples  and  illustrations  of  the  process  of  repre¬ 
sentation. 

27.  Give  examples  of  representation  in  the  school. 

28.  What  are  concepts?  How  do  they  differ  from  percepts? 

29.  What  is  real  representation  ? 

30.  What  is  ideal  representation  ?  Give  illustrations. 

31.  Illustrate  the  use  and  work  of  imagination  in  the  school. 

32.  Define  memory. 

33.  State  and  illustrate  how  the  memory  recalls. 

34.  What  are  laws  of  association  ? 

35.  Name  the  primary  laws. 

36.  Name  the  secondary  laws. 

37.  Name  and  define  the  group  of  conceptive  or  representa¬ 
tive  powers. 

38.  What  is  thinking  as  here  defined  ? 


100 


A  PRIMER  OE  PEDAGOGY. 


89.  Define  analysis,  abstraction,  and  generalization. 

40.  What  is  general  conception  ?  Wliat  is  a  general  concept  ? 

41.  What  is  the  judgment  ?  What  is  a  proposition? 

42.  Give  an  example  of  a  reasoning  process. 

43.  Name  and  define  the  thinking  powers. 

44.  Give  a  synopsis  of  the  knowing  powers. 

45.  What  are  bodily  feelings  ?  appetites?  # 

46.  Name  the  three  classes  of  mental  feelings  and  define 
them. 

47.  What  is  hope? 

48.  Why  is  a  knowledge  of  the  feelings  important  to  a 
teacher  ? 

49.  What  is  the  will  ?  Give  an  illustration  of  an  act  of  the 
will. 

50.  What  is  the  order  of  the  mental  processes  ? 

51.  How  can  the  teacher  move  or  influence  the  will  of  a 
child  ? 

52.  What  is  a  moral  being  ? 

53.  Describe  the  moral  nature  ;  intuition  ;  perception  ;  judg¬ 
ment  ;  conscience. 

54.  Why  should  conscience  be  always  obeyed  ? 

55.  Name  some  of  the  moral  feelings. 

56.  What  are  motives  ? 

57.  How  can  we  increase  or  diminish  the  power  of  motives  ? 

58.  Are  we  free  in  our  choosing  ? 

59.  Give  the  illustrations  of  development. 

60.  Explain  the  use  of  the  term  law. 

61.  Give  the  first  law  of  development. 

62.  State  the  order  in  which  the  powers  are  developed. 

63.  What  is  the  first  inference  from  the  first  law  ? 

64.  Give  the  characteristics  of  each  of  the  three  periods  of 
school  life. 

65.  To  what  powers  of  mind  must  teaching  be  directed  in 
each  of  these  periods  ? 

66.  State  the  second  inference  from  the  first  law. 

67.  State  what  the  characteristics  of  each  of  the  three  classes 
of  schools  should  be. 

68.  State  the  third  inference  from  the  first  law. 

69.  Give  the  second  law  of  development. 

70.  What  is  the  teacher’s  business  under  this  law  ? 

71.  State  the  inference  from  the  second  law. 

72.  What  is  the  third  law  of  development  ? 

73.  Give  the  first  inference  from  the  third  law. 

74.  What  is  the  second  relation  of  knowledge  to  education  ? 

75.  What  is  teaching,  and  what  is  the  teacher's  work? 


A  PRIM  Ell  OF  PEDAGOGY. 


101 


70.  Who  is  the  best  teacher  ? 

77.  What  is  method?  what  are  methods  of  teaching? 

78.  What  determines  methods  of  teaching  ? 

79.  Give  the  illustration  of  the  scientist. 

80.  What  does  the  real  teacher  do  according  to  this  illustra¬ 
tion  ? 

81.  What  is  meant  by  general  forms  of  mental  activity? 
what  by  special  forms  ? 

82.  What  are  the  general  laws  of  mind  ? 

88.  State  the  first  general  law  of  mind,  and  the  correspond¬ 
ing  law  of  teaching  ? 

84.  State  the  second  law  of  mind,  and  the  corresponding  law 
of  teaching. 

85.  How  do  the  senses  present  knowledge  ?  Give  illustrations. 

80.  Give  illustrations  of  the  analytic  process  of  the  mind. 

87.  How  is  the  child  learning  till  he  enters  school  ? 

88.  What  does  Hamilton  say  of  the  work  of  elaboration  ? 

89.  What  is  the  substance  of  the  caution  ? 

90.  What  methods  of  teaching  elementary  reading  are  men¬ 
tioned  ?  Which  are  synthetic  and  which  analytic  ? 

91.  Explain  the  maxim,  “  Proceed  from  the  known  to  the 
unknown.” 

92.  What  is  the  known  to  the  child  when  beginning  to  learn 
to  read?  What  is  the  unknown! 

98.  What  is  the  work  of  the  first  step  in  teaching  children  to 
read? 

94.  Explain  the  second  step. 

95.  What  is  the  work  of  the  third  step  ? 

96.  Explain  the  method  of  teaching  language  lessons  accord¬ 
ing  to  these  laws. 

97.  Give  the  third  law  of  mind,  and  the  corresponding  law 
of  teaching. 

98.  What  work  this  third  law  covers. 

99.  Upon  what  does  the  power  of  memory  depend  ? 

100.  Upon  what  does  the  depth  of  the  impression  depend? 

:  101.  What  illustration  shows  the  effect  of  intense  attention  ? 
what  of  repetition  ? 

;  102.  What  are  the  suggestions  in  relation  to  attention  ? 

108.  What  is  the  second  matter  considered  in  the  training  of 
the  memory  ? 

104.  How  can  the  different  parts  of  a  topic  be  best  associated 
in  the  mind  ? 

;  105.  Give  the  illustration  in  respect  to  committing  to  memory 
a  number  of  names. 

106.  What  laws  of  association  are  used  in  teaching  arithme¬ 
tic? 


A  PRIMER  OF  PEDAGOGY. 


102 


107.  What  laws  in  teaching  to  read  ? 

108.  What  laws  in  teaching  geography  ? 

109.  What  laws  in  teaching  history  ? 

110.  Upon  what  does  all  valuable  training  of  the  memory 
depend  ? 

111.  State  the  fourth  general  law  of  mind,  and  the  corre¬ 
sponding  law  of  teaching. 

112.  Why  can  no  definite  rules  be  given  as  to  the  length  of 
lessons  ? 

118.  What  things  must  be  taken  into  account  in  assigning 
lessons  ? 

114.  What  is  the  prime  condition  of  fruitful  study  ? 

115.  What  should  be  the  aim  of  the  student  in  his  work  ? 
What  the  aim  of  the  teacher  ? 

1 16.  What  is  said  in  relation  to  sleep  ? 

117.  What  is  the  most  important  consideration  in  physical 
exercise  ? 

118.  What  should  be  done  in  primary  schools  in  respect  to 
physical  exercise  ?  What  in  advanced  grades  ? 

119.  Why  should  different  kinds  of  studies  alternate  with 
one  another  ? 

120.  What  activities  of  mind  are*  employed  in  studying 
mathematics  ? 

121.  What  activities  in  studying  the  sciences?  what  in  geo¬ 
graphy  and  history?  what  in  reading  and  language? 

122.  What  alternations  of  studies  are  suggested  in  a  pro¬ 
gram  ? 

123.  What  is  meant  by  subordinate  or  special  laws  of  mind  ? 
by  special  laws  of  teaching  ? 

124.  State  the  first  special  law  of  mind,  and  the  correspond¬ 
ing  law  of  teaching. 

125.  Name  some  “  maxims  ”  covered  by  this  law. 

126.  What  is  one  leading  purpose  of  the  teacher  in  this  early 
period  of  school  life. 

127.  How  does  the  child  learn  at  this  time  ? 

128.  State  the  distinction  between  object  teaching  and 
objective  teaching. 

129.  For  what  are  object  lessons  valuable  ? 

130.  What  are  bad  object  lessons  ? 

131.  What  are  the  characteristics  of  good  observing  ? 

132.  What  is  it  to  develop  and  train  the  perceptive  powers  ? 

133.  State  some  of  the  questions  concerning  the  habit  of 
observing. 

134.  Give  examples  of  concrete  questions  in  arithmetic, 

135.  Give  examples  of  concrete  spelling  lessons, 


A  PRIMER  OF  PEDAGOGY. 


103 


136.  Why  should  methods  of  teaching  be  changed  only  grad¬ 
ually  ? 

137.  What  is  the  order  of  a  child’s  progress  in  the  first  stage  ? 
what  is  the  order  in  the  second  stage  ? 

138.  Illustrate  the  order  in  the  second  stage  by  reference  to  a 
reading  lesson. 

139.  State  the  order  in  a  language  lesson. 

140.  Illustrate  expression  by  other  means  than  by  words. 

141.  What  evil  results  from  using  the  object  and  objective 
method  of  teaching  too  long  ? 

142.  State  the  second  special  law  of  mind,  and  second  special 
law  of  teaching. 

143.  State  the  third  special  law  of  mind,  and  of  teaching. 

144.  How  does  the  young  child  probably  obtain  his  earliest 
ideas  of  classes  of  objects?  Give  an  illustration. 

145.  Define  induction.  Give  examples. 

146.  Give  examples  of  induction  in  teaching  arithmetic. 

147.  Why  may  young  children  be  allowed  to  “do'’  things  for 
which  they  cannot  give  reasons. 

148.  Define  deduction.  Give  examples. 

149.  Are  there  purely  inductive  and  purely  deductive  methods 
of  teaching  ? 

150.  Next  to  training  the  senses,  what  is  the  most  important 
work  of  the  primary  teacher  ? 

151.  State  the  suggestions  in  relation  to  teaching  language  to 
young  children. 

152.  What  kind  of  words  should  be  taught  to  young  children  ? 

153.  May  technical  terms  be  taught  ? 

154.  How  only  can  a  teacher  become  eminently  successful  ? 

155.  What  is  the  effect  of  imitation  ? 

156.  What  should  a  teacher  determine  first  before  beginning 
any  subject  ? 

157.  What  next  should  be  determined  ? 

158.  How  far  do  ge?ieral  laws  apply? 

159.  What  is  the  purpose  stated  in  teaching  civil  government 
to  young  pupils  ? 

160.  What  laws  are  given  ? 

161.  Where  begin  and  how  proceed  in  a  district  school  ? 

162.  Where  begin  in  a  village  or  city  ? 

163.  At  what  time  may  the  township  government  be  best 
studied. 

164.  At  what  time  the  state  government  ? 

165.  At  what  time  the  U.  S.  government  ? 

166.  Why  best  at  these  times? 

167.  State  the  method  of  teaching  civil  government  in  ad¬ 
vanced  classes. 


104 


A  PRIMER  OF  PEDAGOGY. 


168.  Why  should  we  not  begin  to  teach  history  to  children 
by  using  outlines  ? 

169.  State  the  object  in  teaching  U.  S.  history  to  young 
children. 

170.  What  laws  of  mind  are  applicable  ? 

171.  What  law  is  especially  applicable? 

172.  How  should  the  first  lessons  in  history  be  taught? 

178.  Give  illustrations.  What  are  the  advantages  of  this 
method  ? 

174.  What  are  the  more  formal  lessons  ? 

175.  What  advantage  in  having  a  variety  of  text-books  ? 

176.  How  may  advanced  classes  be  taught  ? 

177.  What  is  the  purpose  in  giving  these  applications  of 
mental  laws  and  laws  of  teaching  ? 

178.  What  is  the  moral  nature  ? 

179.  What  questions  does  it  ask  ? 

180.  What  is  the  origin  of  the  idea  of  right  ? 

181.  What  is  moral  law  ? 

182.  State  the  principle  of  justice. 

188  Give  some  applications  of  this  law. 

184.  What  is  the  principle  of  beneficence  ? 

185.  Give  some  applications  of  this  law. 

186.  State  the  purpose  of  moral  instruction  and  training. 

187.  What  knowledge  must  the  child  have  ? 

188.  What  disposition  ?  What  must  he  acquire  by  practice  ? 

189.  State  the  different  means  by  which  instruction  may  be 
given. 

190.  What  is  unconscious  tuition  ? 

191.  Why  should  examples  worthy  to  be  imitated  be  chosen 
rather  than  those  worthy  to  be  avoided  ? 

192.  How  may  advanced  students  be  instructed  ? 

198.  What  is  the  most  difficult  part  of  this  work  ? 

194.  Upon  what  does  disposition  depend  ? 

195.  What  is  desire?  What  is  good? 

196.  What  is  a  motive  ? 

197.  What  are  high  and  what  low  motives  ? 

198.  What  rule  for  the  selection  of  motives  ? 

199.  The  first  class  of  motives. 

200.  The  second,  third,  and  fourth  classes. 

201.  The  lowest  motive  to  which  the  teacher  can  appeal. 

202.  The  highest  motive  to  which  appeal  can  be  made. 

208.  What  should  be  the  final  result  of  moral  development, 
instruction  and  training  ? 

204.  What  is  character  ? 


I  N  DEX, 


PAGE. 

Abstraction  and  analysis.  . . 20 

Affections,  the . . 23 

Alternation  of  studies .  _ . . .  . . . . .  61 

Arithmetic,  laws  of  association  in  teaching . . 53,  54 

Association,  laws  of... . 19,  52 

in  teaching . 54-57 

Attention . 53,  54 

Character . . 98 

Child,  the . 11 

development  of . . 30 

Choice,  freedom  of . 27 

Civil  government,  suggestions  as  to  teaching . . 82,  83 

Classes  of  things,  the  child’s  first  ideas  of...  . 72 

'  Conception,  simple . 18 

power  of. . 20 

general . 21 

Concepts,  simple . 17 

general . . .  21 

-  Concrete,  lessons . . . .  __  67,  68 

Conscience . . 26 

Consciousness . 14 

Deduction . 74 

illustrations  of .  75 

s  Desires . 23,  96 

Development _  ._  . . .  6 

what  it  produces . . . 7 

laws  of. . . . 31-38 

moral . . 89 

Disposition,  on  what  depends . . 95 

Education,  what  it  includes .  6 

definitions  of . . .  7,  8 

divisions  of .  9 

*  beginnings  of .  14 

8 

' 


106 


INDEX. 


PAGE 

Feelings,  bodily . . . .  22 

mental .  23 

classes  of .  23 

moral . .  _ .  27 

Generalization . _ . . .  21 

Good,  the. . 96 

Government,  suggestions  as  to  teaching  civil . 82,  84 

History,  suggestions  as  to  teaching  U.  S . 85-87 

Ideas,  first  of  classes.. . 72 

Imaginaton . . 18 

Induction . . . . . . . 73,  74 

Instruction . . . . . . .  6,  7 

moral . . 92-95 

Intuition  . . 15 

moral . 26 

J udgment,  the . 21 

a*. . 21 

moral.. . 26 

Knowledge,  relation  of,  to  education . . . .36,  37 

Known,  from,  to  unknown . . 47 

Language,  suggestions  as  to  lessons  in . . . .50,  51 

before  grammar . . 75 

suggestions  as  to  teaching . . . 76 

Law,  moral . 90 

principles  of  moral . . . . 90,  91 

Laws  of  mind,  general . . . .  43,  44 

teaching . . 44,  52,  58 

special . . .  . 63,  64 j  70,  71 

suggested  applications . . . . . 80,  82 

Lessons,  as  to  length  of . . .  58 

assignment  of . 59 

concrete . . 67 

Legislature,  when  best  studied .  83 

Memory... . 18 

cultivation  of... . . . .  52 

Mental  activities,  general  and  special  forms  of . 43 

Methods,  divisions  of . 34 

defined . . . 40 

how  determined . . . . 41,  43 

Mind,  what  it  is . 14 

laws  of . 43-58 

Moral,  being  and  nature . 25 

nature . 89 

intuition,  perception,  judgment . 26 

law .  90 


INDEX.  107 

PAGE 

Moral  instruction  and  training .  92 

Motives,  high  and  low,  classes  of . . 96,  97 

Nerves,  the . . - .  12 

peculiar  property  of . . .  12 

Object,  teaching  and  lessons .  . .  65 

Objective  teaching . . . . . . . .  65 

Observation,  by  children . . —  -  66 

questions  as  to . 67 

Perception . 15 

moral . . . - .  26 

powers  of . _  _ . . . .  16 

Percept,  what . . 15 

Physical  exercises . 60 

Principles,  of  morals . 90,  91 

Processes  before  reasons . . . . . .  74 

Progress,  order  of,  in  the  two  stages . . .  69 

Questions,  to  a  person  preparing  for  any  work _ _ _  5 

Reading,  teaching  of  elementary . . . 47-49 

laws  of  association  employed .  56 

Reasoning . 21 

Representation . . . 16,  17 

real . 17 

ideal... . . . 18 

powers  of... . 20 

begins  early . 70 

Rest  and  relaxation . . 59 

Right,  idea  of . 89 

Schools,  classes  of . . 83 

Sensation  . . 14 

Senses,  the . . . . ... .  ...  12 

kind  of  knowledge  given  by  each  sense . ..  13 

form  in  which  they  present  knowledge. . 45 

Sleep. . . 60 

Space  and  time _ _ 15 

Studies,  alternation  of . . 61 

Teacher,  work  of . . . .  5,  6 

the  best . 38 

Teaching,  not  an  end . 5 

what  it  is . 37 

general  laws  of . 44-58 

special  laws  of . . 63-72 

Technical  terms,  as  to  teaching . .  . . . .  78 

Thinking . 20 

forms  of . 21 

powers  of . 22 


108 


IXDEX. 


PAGE* 

Time  and  space .  15 

Training,  what  it  is . ...  6 

what  it  produces . . .  7 

Will,  the,  analysis  of  an  act  of . _  24 

factor  in  the  moral  nature . . . .  27 

Words,  kind  of,  to  be  taught  to  children . .  77 

technical . .___  78 


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